CHAPTER 15a DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CODE (PENAL PROVISIONS) The following provisions of the District of Columbia Code, 1940 Edition, with amendments and additions through 31 December 1944, are those to which reference is most frequently made in appropriate cases in the administration of military justice for the purposes of determining maximum punishment and whether penitentiary confinement is authorized. "Writing" and "paper" defined, 857a-101. | Housebreaking; definition and penalty, 857a(D. C. Code 22-101). 1801. (D. C. Code 22-1801). "Anything of value" defined, 857a-102. (D. C. Incest; definition and penalty, 857a-1901. Code 22-102). (D. C. Code 22-1901). Attempts to commit crime, 857a-103. (D. C. Indecent publications; definition and penalty, Punishment for offenses not covered by pro- Abortion; definition and penalty, 857a-201. Arson; definition and penalty, (D. C. Code 22-401). 857a-301. 857a-401. Malicious burning, destruction, or injury of another's movable property, 857a-403. (D. C. Code 22-403). Code 22-2101). Grand Larceny, 857a-2201. (D. C. Code 22- Unauthorized use of vehicles, 857a-2204. (D. C. Theft from vehicles, 857a-2204a. (D. C. Code Receiving stolen goods, 857a-2205. (D. C. Destroying stolen property, 857a-2208. (D. C. Malicious burning of fences, woods, crops, etc., Libel, 857a-2301. (D. C. Code 22-2301). Blackmail, 857a-2305. (D. C. Code 22-2305). Assault with intent to commit any other offense, 857a-503. (D. C. Code 22-503). Mayhem or maliciously disfiguring, 857a-506. (D. C. Code 22-506). Bigamy; definition and penalty, 857a-601. (D. C. Code 22-601). Bribery; definition and penalty, (D. C. Code 22-701). 857a-701. Code 22-2401). Punishment for murder in first and second Perjury; subordination of perjury, 857a-2501. hibited, 857a-2701. (D. C. Code 22-2701). Abducting, secreting, or enticing child for purposes of prostitution; harboring such child, 857a-2704. (D. C. Code 22-2704). Cruelty to children, 857a-901. (D. C. Code Pandering; inducing or compelling female to 22-901). Embezzlement by agent, attorney, clerk, servant, or agent of a corporation, 857a1202. (D. C. Code 22-1202). Embezzlement of note not delivered, 857a1203. (D. C. Code 22-1203). Receiving embezzled property, 857a-1204. (D. C. Code 22-1204). Taking property without right, 857a-1211. (D. C. Code 22-1211). become prostitute or engage in prostitution; penalty, 857a-2705. (D. C. Code 22-2705). Procurer: Punishment for receiving money or valuable thing for arranging assignation or debauchery, 857a-2707. (D. C. Code 22-2707). Procurer for third persons; penalty, 857a 2711. (D. C. Code 22-2711). Keeping bawdy or disorderly houses, 857a 2722. (D. C. Code 22-2722). False pretenses, 857a-1301. (D. C. Code 22- Rape; definition and penalty, 857a-2801. (D. 1301). Forgery, 857a-1401. (D. C. Code 22-1401). Sale or C. Code 22-2801). Robbery, 857a-2901. (D. C. Code 22-2901). Seduction, 857a-3001. (D. C. Code 22-3001). Cutting down or destroying things growing on Carrying concealed weapons, 857a-3204. (D. C. Code 22-3204). (D. C. Uniform Narcotic Drug Act: Penalties, 857c-423. (D. C. Code 33-423). Alteration of identifying marks of weapons Speeding and reckless driving, 857d-605. (D. C. prohibited, 857a-3212. (D. C. Code 22 3212). Unauthorized use, etc., of dangerous weapons; penalty, 857a-3215. (D. C. Code 22-3215). Place of imprisonment; cumulative sentences; jurisdiction of prosecutions, 857b-401. (D. C. Code 24-401). Code 40-605). Negligent homicide, 857d-606 (D. C. Code 40-606). Fleeing from scene of accident; driving under influence of liquor or drugs, 857d-609. (D. C. Code 40-609). 857a-101. "Writing" and "paper" defined (D. C. Code 22-101).-Except where such a construction would be unreasonable, the words “writing" and "paper", wherever mentioned in this title, are to be taken to include instruments wholly in writing or wholly printed, or partly printed and partly in writing. Sec. 904, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1336). 857a-102. "Anything of value" defined (D. C. Code 22-102).-The words "anything of value," wherever they occur in this title, shall be held to include not only things possessing intrinsic value, but bank notes and others forms of paper money, and commercial paper and other writings which represent value. Sec. 905, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1336). 857a-103. Attempts to commit crime (D. C. Code 22-103).—Whoever shall attempt to commit any crime, which attempt is not otherwise made punishable by this title shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. Sec. 906, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1337). 857a-107. Punishment for offenses not covered by provisions of code (D. C. Code 22-107).—Whoever shall be convicted of any criminal offense not covered by the provisions of any section of this code, or of any general law of the United States not locally inapplicable in the District of Columbia, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both. Sec. 910, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1337). 857a-201. Abortion; definition and penalty (D. C. Code 22-201).-Whoever, with intent to procure the miscarriage of any woman, prescribes or administers to her any medicine, drug, or substance whatever, or with like intent uses any instrument or means, unless when necessary to preserve her life or health and under the direction of a competent licensed practitioner of medicine, shall be imprisoned for not more than five years; or if the woman or her child dies in consequence of such act, by imprisonment for not less than three nor more than twenty years. Sec. 809, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1322). 857a-301. Adultery; definition and penalty (D. C. Code 22-301).-Whoever commits adultery in the District shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both; and when the act is committed between a married woman and a man who is unmarried both parties to such act shall be deemed guilty of adultery; and when such act is committed between a married man and a woman who is unmarried, the man only shall be deemed guilty of adultery. Sec. 874, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1332). 857a-401. Arson; definition and penalty (D. C. Code 22-401).-Whoever shall maliciously burn or attempt to burn any dwelling, or house, barn, or stable adjoining thereto, or any store, barn, or outhouse, or any shop, office, stable, store, warehouse, or any other building, or any steamboat, vessel, canal boat, or other water craft, or any railroad car, the property, in whole or in part, of another person, or any church, meetinghouse, schoolhouse, or any of the public buildings in the District, belonging to the United States or to the District of Columbia, shall suffer imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than ten years. Sec. 820, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1323). 857a-403. Malicious burning, destruction, or injury of another's movable property (D. C. Code 22-403).-Whoever maliciously injures or destroys, or attempts to injure or destroy, by fire or otherwise, any movable property not his own, of the value of $50 or more, shall be imprisoned for not less than one year and not more than ten years, and if the value of the property be less than $50 by a fine not exceeding $200 or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both. Sec. 848, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1327); act of Aug. 12, 1937 (50 Stat. 629). 857a-404. Malicious burning of fences, woods, crops, etc. (D. C. Code 22404). Whoever shall maliciously burn or set fire to any fences, woods, stacks of hay, grain, or straw, or growing crops, the property, in whole or in part, of another, shall be imprisoned for not more than thirty days or be fined, not more than five hundred dollars, or both. Sec. 822, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1823). 857a-501. Assault with intent to kill, rob, rape, or poison (D. C. Code 22501). Every person convicted of any assault with intent to kill or to commit rape, or to commit robbery, or mingling poison with food, drink, or medicine with intent to kill, or willfully poisoning any well, spring, or cistern of water, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than fifteen years. Sec. 803, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1321). 857a-502. Assault with intent to commit mayhem or with dangerous weapon (D. C. Code 22-502).—Every person convicted of an assault with intent to commit mayhem, or of an assault with a dangerous weapon, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than ten years. Sec. 804, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1321). 857a-503. Assault with intent to commit any other offense (D. C. Code 22-503). Whoever assaults another with intent to commit any other offense which may be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary shall be imprisoned not more than five years. Sec. 805, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1322). 857a-506. Mayhem or maliciously disfiguring (D. C. Code 22-506).-Every person convicted of mayhem or of maliciously disfiguring another shall be imprisoned for not more than ten years. Sec. 807, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1322). 857a-601. Bigamy; definition and penalty (D. C. Code 22-601).-Whoever, having a husband or wife living, marries another shall be deemed guilty of bigamy, and on conviction thereof shall suffer imprisonment for not less than two nor more than seven years; Provided, That this section shall not apply to any person whose husband or wife has been continually absent for five successive years next before such marriage without being known to such person to be living within that time, or whose marriage to said living husband or wife shall have been dissolved by a valid decree of a competent court, or shall have been pronounced void by a valid decree of a competent court on the ground of the nullity of the marriage contract. Sec. 870, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1331). 857a-701. Bribery; definition and penalty (D. C. Code 22-701).-Whoever promises, offers, or gives, or causes or procures to be promised, offered, or given, any money or thing of value, or makes or tenders any contract, undertaking, obligation, credit, or security for the payment of money, or for the delivery or conveyance of anything of value, to any executive, judicial, or other officer, or to any person acting in any official function, or to any juror or witness, with intent to influence the decision, action, verdict, or evidence of any such person on any question, matter, cause, or proceeding or with intent to influence him to commit or aid in committing, or to collude in or allow any fraud, or make any opportunity for the commission of any fraud, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or be imprisoned not more than three years, or both. Sec. 861, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1330). 857a–901. Cruelty to children (D. C. Code 22–901).—Any person who shall torture, cruelly beat, abuse, or otherwise willfully maltreat any child under the age of eighteen years; or any person, having the custody and possession of a child under the age of fourteen years, who shall expose, or aid and abet in exposing, such child in any highway, street, field, house, outhouse, or other place, with intent to abandon it; or any person, having in his custody or control a child under the age of fourteen years, who shall in any way dispose of it with a view to its being employed as an acrobat, or a gymnast, or a contortionist, or a circus rider, or a ropewalker, or in any exhibition of like dangerous character, or as a beggar, or mendicant, or pauper, or street singer, or street musician; or any person who shall take, receive, hire, employ, use, exhibit, or have in custody any child of the age last named for any of the purposes last enumerated, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, when convicted thereof, shall be subject to punishment by a fine of not more than two hundred and fifty dollars, or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both. Sec. 3, act of Feb. 13, 1885 (23 Stat. 303); sec. 814, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1322). 857a-1202. Embezzlement by agent, attorney, clerk, servant, or agent of a corporation (D. C. Code 22-1202).—If any agent, attorney, clerk, or servant of a private person or copartnership, or any officer, attorney, agent, clerk, or servant of any association or incorporated company, shall wrongfully convert to his own use, or fraudulently take, make way with, or secrete, with intent to convert to his own use, anything of value which shall come into his possession or under his care by virtue of his employment of office, whether the thing so converted be the property of his master or employer or that of any other person, copartnership, association, or corporation, he shall be deemed guilty of embezzlement, and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both: Provided, however, That where the thing, evidence of debt, property, proceeds or profits be of the value of not more than thirty-five dollars, the punishment shall be by imprisonment for not more than one year or a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or both. Sec. 834, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1325); sec. 851a, added to act of Mar. 3, 1901 by act of Mar. 3, 1913 (37 Stat. 727). 857a-1203. Embezzlement of note not delivered (D. C. Code 22-1203).— Every embezzlement of any evidence of debt negotiable by delivery only, actually executed by the master or employer of any such clerk, attorney, agent, officer, or servant, but not delivered or issued as a valid instrument, shall be deemed an offense within the meaning of section 22-1202. Sec. 835, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1325). 857a-1204. Receiving embezzled property (D. C. Code 22-1204).-Every person who shall buy or in any way receive anything of value, knowing the same to have been embezzled, taken, or secreted contrary to the provisions of sections 22-1201 to 22-1203, shall be punished in the same manner and to the same extent as prescribed in said sections, respectively. Sec. 836, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1325). 857a-1211. Taking property without right (D. C. Code 22-1211).—The taking and carrying away of the property of another in the District of Columbia without right to do so shall be a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed one hundred dollars, or imprisonment for a term not to exceed six months, or both. Act of Apr. 21, 1906 (34 Stat. 127). 857a-1301. False pretenses (D. C. Code 22-1301).—Whoever, by any false pretense, with intent to defraud, obtains from any person anything of value, or procures the execution and delivery of any instrument of writing or conveyance of real or personal property, or the signature of any person, as maker, endorser, or guårantor, to or upon any bond, bill, receipt, promissory note, draft or check, or any other evidence of indebtedness, and whoever fraudulently sells, barters, or disposes of any bond, bill, receipt, promissory note, draft or check, or other evidence of indebtedness, for value, knowing the same to be worthless, or knowing the signature of the maker, endorser, or guarantor thereof to have been obtained by any false pretense, shall, if the value of the property or the sum or value of the money or property so obtained, procured, sold, bartered, or disposed of is $50 or upward, be imprisoned not less than one year nor more than three years; or, if less than that sum, shall be fined not more than $200 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both. Any person who obtains any lodging, food, or accommodation at an inn, boarding house, or lodging house, without paying therefor, with intent to defraud the proprietor or manager thereof, or who obtains credit at such an inn, boarding house, or lodging house by the use of any false pretense, or who, after obtaining credit or accommodation at such an inn, boarding house, or lodging house, absconds or surreptitiously removes his baggage therefrom without paying for his food, accommodation, or lodging, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof in the police court of the District of Columbia be fined not more than $100 or imprisonment not more than six months, or both, in the discretion of said court. Sec. 842, act of Mar. 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1326); act of June 30, 1902 (32 Stat. 535); act of Aug. 12, 1937 (50 Stat. 628). 857a-1401. Forgery (D. C. Code 22-1401).—Whoever, with intent to defraud or injure another, falsely makes or alters any writing of a public or private nature, which might operate to the prejudice of another, or passes, utters, or publishes, or attempts to pass, utter, or publish as true and genuine, any paper so falsely made or altered, knowing the same to be false or |