§ 3146. — Penalty for failure to appear.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 18USC3146]
TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART II--CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
CHAPTER 207--RELEASE AND DETENTION PENDING JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS
Sec. 3146. Penalty for failure to appear
(a) Offense.--Whoever, having been released under this chapter
knowingly--
(1) fails to appear before a court as required by the conditions
of release; or
(2) fails to surrender for service of sentence pursuant to a
court order;
shall be punished as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) Punishment.--(1) The punishment for an offense under this
section is--
(A) if the person was released in connection with a charge of,
or while awaiting sentence, surrender for service of sentence, or
appeal or certiorari after conviction for--
(i) an offense punishable by death, life imprisonment, or
imprisonment for a term of 15 years or more, a fine under this
title or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both;
(ii) an offense punishable by imprisonment for a term of
five years or more, a fine under this title or imprisonment for
not more than five years, or both;
(iii) any other felony, a fine under this title or
imprisonment for not more than two years, or both; or
(iv) a misdemeanor, a fine under this title or imprisonment
for not more than one year, or both; and
(B) if the person was released for appearance as a material
witness, a fine under this chapter or imprisonment for not more than
one year, or both.
(2) A term of imprisonment imposed under this section shall be
consecutive to the sentence of imprisonment for any other offense.
(c) Affirmative Defense.--It is an affirmative defense to a
prosecution under this section that uncontrollable circumstances
prevented the person from appearing or surrendering, and that the person
did not contribute to the creation of such circumstances in reckless
disregard of the requirement to appear or surrender, and that the person
appeared or surrendered as soon as such circumstances ceased to exist.
(d) Declaration of Forfeiture.--If a person fails to appear before a
court as required, and the person executed an appearance bond pursuant
to section 3142(b) of this title or is subject to the release condition
set forth in clause (xi) or (xii) of section 3142(c)(1)(B) of this
title, the judicial officer may, regardless of whether the person has
been charged with an offense under this section, declare any property
designated pursuant to that section to be forfeited to the United
States.
(Added Pub. L. 98-473, title II, Sec. 203(a), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat.
1982; amended Pub. L. 99-646, Sec. 55(f), Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3609;
Pub. L. 103-322, title XXXIII, Sec. 330016(2)(K), Sept. 13, 1994, 108
Stat. 2148; Pub. L. 104-294, title VI, Sec. 601(a)(4), Oct. 11, 1996,
110 Stat. 3498.)
Prior Provisions
A prior section 3146, added Pub. L. 89-465, Sec. 3(a), June 22,
1966, 80 Stat. 214; amended Pub. L. 97-291, Sec. 8, Oct. 12, 1982, 96
Stat. 1257, related to release in noncapital cases prior to trial, prior
to repeal in the revision of this chapter by section 203(a) of Pub. L.
98-473.
Another prior section 3146, act Aug. 20, 1954, ch. 772, Sec. 1, 68
Stat. 747, which prescribed penalties for jumping bail, was repealed by
Pub. L. 89-465, Sec. 3(a), June 22, 1966, 80 Stat. 214, and covered by
former sections 3150 and 3151 of this title.
Amendments
1996--Subsec. (b)(1)(A)(iv). Pub. L. 104-294 substituted ``a fine
under this title'' for ``a fined under this title''.
1994--Subsec. (b)(1)(A)(iv). Pub. L. 103-322 substituted ``fined
under this title'' for ``fine under this chapter''.
1986--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99-646, Sec. 55(f)(1), added subsec. (a)
and struck out former subsec. (a) which read as follows: ``A person
commits an offense if, after having been released pursuant to this
chapter--
``(1) he knowingly fails to appear before a court as required by
the conditions of his release; or
``(2) he knowingly fails to surrender for service of sentence
pursuant to a court order.''
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 99-646, Sec. 55(f)(1), added subsec. (b) and
struck out former subsec. (b) which was captioned ``Grading'', and which
read as follows: ``If the person was released--
``(1) in connection with a charge of, or while awaiting
sentence, surrender for service of sentence, or appeal or certiorari
after conviction, for--
``(A) an offense punishable by death, life imprisonment, or
imprisonment for a term of fifteen years or more, he shall be
fined not more than $25,000 or imprisoned for not more than ten
years, or both;
``(B) an offense punishable by imprisonment for a term of
five or more years, but less than fifteen years, he shall be
fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than five
years, or both;
``(C) any other felony, he shall be fined not more than
$5,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both; or
``(D) a misdemeanor, he shall be fined not more than $2,000
or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both; or
``(2) for appearance as a material witness, he shall be fined
not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or
both.
A term of imprisonment imposed pursuant to this section shall be
consecutive to the sentence of imprisonment for any other offense.''
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 99-646, Sec. 55(f)(2), substituted
``requirement to appear'' for ``requirement that he appear'' and ``the
person appeared'' for ``he appeared''.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 99-646, Sec. 55(f)(3), inserted ``of this
title'' after ``3142(b)'' and substituted ``clause (xi) or (xii) of
section 3142(c)(1)(B) of this title'' for ``section 3142(c)(2)(K) or
(c)(2)(L)''.
Effective Date of 1986 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 99-646 effective 30 days after Nov. 10, 1986,
see section 55(j) of Pub. L. 99-646, set out as a note under section
3141 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 2516, 3156 of this title;
title 8 section 1535; title 28 section 994; title 42 section 10601.