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10 USC § 888 - Art. 88. Contempt toward officials 

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t10/s888"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "10 USC § 888 - Art. 88. Contempt toward officials"
title_number: 10
title_name: "ARMED FORCES"
section_number: "888"
section_name: "Art. 88. Contempt toward officials"
chapter_number: 47
chapter_name: "UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE"
subchapter_number: "X"
subchapter_name: "PUNITIVE ARTICLES"
part_number: "II"
part_name: "PERSONNEL"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 67; Pub. L. 96–513, title V, § 511(25), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2922; Pub. L. 107–296, title XVII, § 1704(b)(1), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2314; Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title X, § 1057(a)(3), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3440.)"
---

# § 888. Art. 88. Contempt toward officials

Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

---

**Source Credit**: (Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 67; Pub. L. 96–513, title V, § 511(25), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2922; Pub. L. 107–296, title XVII, § 1704(b)(1), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2314; Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title X, § 1057(a)(3), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3440.)

| Revised section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 888 | 50:682. | May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art. 88), 64 Stat. 135. |

The word “commissioned” is inserted for clarity. The words “the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of the Treasury, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession” are substituted for the words “Vice President, Congress, Secretary of Defense, or a Secretary of a Department, a Governor or a legislature of any State, Territory, or other possession of the United States”.

## Editorial Notes

### Amendments

2006— struck out “Territory,” after “State,”.

2002— substituted “Secretary of Homeland Security” for “Secretary of Transportation”.

1980— substituted “Secretary of Transportation” for “Secretary of the Treasury”.

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 2002 Amendment

Amendment by  effective on the date of transfer of the Coast Guard to the Department of Homeland Security, see , set out as a note under .

### Effective Date of 1980 Amendment

Amendment by  effective , see , set out as a note under .