Are You Allowed To Write On Money

It's your money, right? You worked hard for it, and you tin can also  make money doing trading online, with services like VT markets French republic also. So shouldn't you be able to do whatever you desire with it? Well, no, not exactly. The United states of america Supreme Courtroom put it this way:

A number of examples can exist found of statutes enacted by Congress which protect simply a peculiarly governmental involvement in property otherwise privately owned. Championship xviii U.S.C. § 504 prohibits the printing or publishing in actual size or in actual colour of any United States postage or revenue postage, or of whatsoever obligation or security of the U.s.a.. Information technology besides prohibits the importation of whatsoever plates for the purpose of such printing. Title xviii U.S.C § 331 prohibits the alteration of any Federal Reserve note or national bank annotation, and 18 U.Southward.C. § 333 prohibits the disfiguring or defacing of whatsoever national bank note or coin. Title xviii United states of americaC. § 702 prohibits the wearing of a military uniform, any part of such uniform, or anything similar to a armed services compatible or part thereof without proper authorisation. Title eighteen U.s.C. s 704 prohibits the unauthorized wearing of service medals. It is not without significance that many of these statutes, though long on the books, have never been judicially construed or even challenged.

Smith v. Goguen, 415 U.S. 566, 595–96, 94 S. Ct. 1242, 1258 (1974).

The statute the Supreme Court mentions that prohibits the alteration of any paper money prohibits much more only altering bank notes:

Whoever mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures, or perforates, or unites or cements together, or does whatsoever other matter to whatsoever bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national cyberbanking association, or Federal Reserve depository financial institution, or the Federal Reserve Organization, with intent to render such banking company bill, typhoon, note, or other evidence of debt unfit to exist reissued, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned non more than vi months, or both.

18 U.Due south.C. § 333.

The Supreme Court was right that there has not been much challenge to this statute, and therefore not much guidance as to what its terms hateful. Mutilate, cut, deface, disfigure, perforate, and unite or cement together seem pretty evidently in meaning. Withal, where the statute is less clear is in the phrase "does any other thing … with intent to render [it] unfit to be reissued." Only ane court popped upward in our research equally having provided some estimation of this phrase, the Seventh Circuit Courtroom of Appeals, and it concluded that burning money constituted a violation of the statute.

Although writing on money may not render information technology unfit to exist reissued, the statute appears just to add together this qualification to the grab-all at the end: the "does any other thing" prohibition. Otherwise, the statute on its face prohibits the defacement of paper money. According to Google'south built-in dictionary, deface ways "spoil the surface or advent of (something), e.g., by drawing or writing on it; mar or disfigure." Thus, it appears that writing on money is punishable by upward to vi months and/or an unspecified fine (a misdemeanor).

We were just able to observe one case where anyone had ever been prosecuted under this statute (frequently cases are only published if there is an appeal, so there could exist many more than convictions nether this statute that aren't accessible via WestLaw). That case, out of California, involved a man who "pled guilty on March 12, 1979 to a misdemeanor information charging ii counts of mutilating national banking concern obligations in violation of eighteen U.S.C. s 333."United States v. Amidon, 627 F.second 1023, 1024 (ninth Cir. 1980). No further detail was given about what deportment of his constituted mutilation.

The statute was challenged for its constitutionality. Information technology was declared that it was a violation of the First Amendment to include the phrase "In God We Trust" on U.S. Currency. The court borrowed from the dissenting opinion in a U.S. Supreme Court case in denying the constitutional claiming:

I cannot imagine that the statutes, see 18 U.S.C. ss 331 and 333, proscribing defacement of Us currency impinge upon the First Amendment rights of an atheist. The fact that an atheist carries and uses United States currency does not, in any meaningful sense, convey any affirmation of belief on his part in the motto "In God Nosotros Trust."

Wooley v. Maynard, 430 US 705, 722, 97 S. Ct. 1428, 1439 (1977).

The brusque respond and so, is aye, it is illegal to write on money.

Interestingly, though, the penalties for writing on paper money are limited to a maximum sentence of 1 year and a fine. The scope is much broader and the penalties much more severe for messing with coinage:

Whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the mints of the Us, or whatsoever strange coins which are past police force made current or are in actual use or circulation as money inside the U.s.a.; or
Whoever fraudulently possesses, passes, utters, publishes, or sells, or attempts to pass, utter, publish, or sell, or brings into the United States, whatever such coin, knowing the same to be altered, defaced, mutilated, impaired, macerated, falsified, scaled, or lightened—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

18 U.Southward.C. § 331 (accent added).

At first chroma, it appears that Congress intended to punish those who deface coins more than those who deface paper money. Still, the defacement of coins must be done "fraudulently," which presumably means that ordinary defacement, like that which occurs every mean solar day in theme parks with their penny presses, is not fraudulent. Either that, or the federal regime is really lax in enforcement of this detail statute. (Thanks to Karl Stutelberg for a great question regarding penny presses.)

*No bodily money was defaced in the making of this article. All depictions of defaced paper money are virtual only and are non meant to encourage, support, or otherwise condone the defacement of legal tender.

---

Zachariah B. Parry is an attorney and founding partner at the law firm Lawyers Plus and is an offshoot professor who teaches torts, contracts, and Nevada exercise and procedure for UNLV'southward paralegal programme. He tin be reached at 702-912-4451 or zach@pickardparry.com.

Source: http://www.lawyers-plus.com/law-write-on-money/

Posted by: sebringlour1993.blogspot.com

Share this post