§3007 — Title 39 Postal Service | U.S. Code

Summary

Allows the Postal Service to ask a federal court (under section 409(d) and rule 65) to temporarily stop a person’s incoming and outgoing mail in any district where the mail was sent or received for an alleged scheme or where the person is found. If the court finds the Postal Service is likely to win the case under section 3005, the court must order postmasters in any district to hold the mail while the case and any appeals or enforcement actions continue. Held mail must be available at the post office for the person to look at with a postal employee present. Mail that is not clearly part of the case must be delivered as addressed. The court does not need to find the person intended to lie or run a lottery to issue the order. If the section 3005 case ends with an order, any judicial review must happen in the same district where the temporary mail order was issued. This rule does not apply to mail sent to newspapers or periodicals at the periodical rate or to their agents.

Title 39, §3007

Postal Service — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)In preparation for or during the pendency of proceedings under section 3005, the Postal Service may, under the provisions of section 409(d), apply to the district court in any district in which mail is sent or received as part of the alleged scheme, device, lottery, gift enterprise, sweepstakes, skill contest, or facsimile check or in any district in which the defendant is found, for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction under the procedural requirements of rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

(2)(A)Upon a proper showing, the court shall enter an order which shall—

(i)remain in effect during the pendency of the statutory proceedings, any judicial review of such proceedings, or any action to enforce orders issued under the proceedings; and

(ii)direct the detention by the postmaster, in any and all districts, of the defendant’s incoming mail and outgoing mail, which is the subject of the proceedings under section 3005.

(B)A proper showing under this paragraph shall require proof of a likelihood of success on the merits of the proceedings under section 3005.

(3)Mail detained under paragraph (2) shall—

(A)be made available at the post office of mailing or delivery for examination by the defendant in the presence of a postal employee; and

(B)be delivered as addressed if such mail is not clearly shown to be the subject of proceedings under section 3005.

(4)No finding of the defendant’s intent to make a false representation or to conduct a lottery is required to support the issuance of an order under this section.

(b)If any order is issued under subsection (a) and the proceedings under section 3005 are concluded with the issuance of an order under that section, any judicial review of the matter shall be in the district in which the order under subsection (a) was issued.

(c)This section does not apply to mail addressed to publishers of newspapers and other periodical publications entitled to a periodical publication rate or to mail addressed to the agents of those publishers.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is set out in the Appendix to Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

Amendments

1999—Pub. L. 106–168 added subsecs. (a) and (b), struck out former subsec. (a) which provided for injunctive relief and other orders by the district court in which the defendant gets his mail, and redesignated former subsec. (b) as (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1999 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 106–168 effective 120 days after Dec. 12, 1999, see section 111 of Pub. L. 106–168, set out as a note under section 3001 of this title.

Effective Date

Section effective July 1, 1971, pursuant to Resolution No. 71–9 of the Board of Governors. See section 15(a) of Pub. L. 91–375, set out as a note preceding section 101 of this title.

§3007 Detention of mail for temporary periods

Summary

Title 39, §3007

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Amendments

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Effective Date

Citations & Metadata