18 USC § 204 - Practice in United States Court of Federal Claims or the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by Members of Congress

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t18/s204"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "18 USC § 204 - Practice in United States Court of Federal Claims or the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by Members of Congress"
title_number: 18
title_name: "CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE"
section_number: "204"
section_name: "Practice in United States Court of Federal Claims or the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by Members of Congress"
chapter_number: 11
chapter_name: "BRIBERY, GRAFT, AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST"
part_number: "I"
part_name: "CRIMES"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-21"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Added Pub. L. 87–849, § 1(a), Oct. 23, 1962, 76 Stat. 1122; amended Pub. L. 91–405, title II, § 204(d)(2), Sept. 22, 1970, 84 Stat. 853; Pub. L. 97–164, title I, § 147, Apr. 2, 1982, 96 Stat. 45; Pub. L. 101–194, title IV, § 403, Nov. 30, 1989, 103 Stat. 1749; Pub. L. 102–572, title IX, § 902(b)(1), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4516.)"
---


# § 204. Practice in United States Court of Federal Claims or the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by Members of Congress

section 216 of this title

Whoever, being a Member of Congress or Member of Congress Elect, practices in the United States Court of Federal Claims or the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit shall be subject to the penalties set forth in .

---

**Source Credit**: (Added Pub. L. 87–849, § 1(a), Oct. 23, 1962, 76 Stat. 1122; amended Pub. L. 91–405, title II, § 204(d)(2), Sept. 22, 1970, 84 Stat. 853; Pub. L. 97–164, title I, § 147, Apr. 2, 1982, 96 Stat. 45; Pub. L. 101–194, title IV, § 403, Nov. 30, 1989, 103 Stat. 1749; Pub. L. 102–572, title IX, § 902(b)(1), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4516.)

## Editorial Notes

### Prior Provisions

A prior section 204, , , related to an offer to influence a Member of Congress, prior to the general amendment of this chapter by  and is substantially covered by revised section 201.

Provisions similar to this section were contained in former  prior to the repeal of such section and the general amendment of this chapter by .

### Amendments

1992— substituted “United States Court of Federal Claims” for “United States Claims Court” in section catchline and in text.

1989— amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: “Whoever, being a Member of Congress, Member of Congress Elect, Delegate from the District of Columbia, Delegate Elect from the District of Columbia, Resident Commissioner, or Resident Commissioner Elect, practices in the United States Claims Court or the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both, and shall be incapable of holding any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.”

1982— substituted “United States Claims Court or the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit” for “Court of Claims”.

1970— included references to Delegate from District of Columbia and Delegate Elect from District of Columbia.

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 1992 Amendment

Amendment by  effective , see , set out as a note under , Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

### Effective Date of 1982 Amendment

Amendment by  effective , see , set out as a note under , Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

### Effective Date of 1970 Amendment

Amendment by  effective , see , set out as an Effective Date note under , The Congress.

### Effective Date

Section effective 90 days after , see , set out as a note under .

### Exemptions

Exemptions from former  deemed to be exemptions from this section, see , set out as a note under .