Title 22, Criminal Offenses and Penalties.

Nothing in subchapter I of this chapter shall be construed to prohibit the operation of or participation in lotteries and/or daily numbers games operated by and for the benefit of the District of Columbia by the Office of Lottery and Gaming, including bingo, raffles, and Monte Ca…

(a) Nothing in subchapter I of this chapter shall be construed to prohibit the advertising and promotion of excepted permissible gambling activities pursuant to § 22-1717, hereof, including, but not limited to, the sale, by agents authorized by the District of Columbia, and the p…

Except where otherwise provided for 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.

The words “anything of value,” wherever they occur in this title and the District of Columbia Theft and White Collar Crimes Act of 1982, shall be held to include not only things possessing intrinsic value, but bank notes and other forms of paper money, and commercial paper and ot…

Whoever shall attempt to commit any crime, which attempt is not otherwise made punishable by chapter 19 of An Act to establish a code of law for the District of Columbia, approved March 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1321), shall be punished by a fine not more than the amount set forth in § 2…

(a) If any person: (1) is convicted of a criminal offense (other than a non-moving traffic offense) under a law applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia; and (2) was previously convicted of a criminal offense under any law of the United States or of a state or territory…

(a)(1) If a person is convicted in the District of Columbia of a felony, having previously been convicted of 2 prior felonies not committed on the same occasion, the court may, in lieu of any sentence authorized, impose such greater term of imprisonment as it deems necessary, up …

In prosecutions for any criminal offense all persons advising, inciting, or conniving at the offense, or aiding or abetting the principal offender, shall be charged as principals and not as accessories, the intent of this section being that as to all accessories before the fact t…

(a)(1) If 2 or more persons conspire either to commit a criminal offense or to defraud the District of Columbia or any court or agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, each shall be fined not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01 or imprisoned not more than 5 ye…

Whoever shall be convicted of being an accessory after the fact to any crime punishable by death shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 20 years. Whoever shall be convicted of being accessory after the fact to any crime punishable by imprisonment shall be punished by…

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 more than the amount set forth in § 22-35…

Any person who by the commission outside of the District of Columbia of any act which, if committed within the District of Columbia, would be a criminal offense under the laws of said District, thereby obtains any property or other thing of value, and is afterwards found with any…

All prosecutions for violations of § 22-1321 or any of the provisions of any of the laws or ordinances provided for by this act shall be conducted in the name of and for the benefit of the District of Columbia, and in the same manner as provided by law for the prosecution of offe…

Whoever threatens within the District of Columbia to kidnap any person or to injure the person of another or physically damage the property of any person or of another person, in whole or in part, shall be fined not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01 or imprisoned not…

For the purposes of this chapter, the term: (1) “Abuse or threatened abuse of law or legal process” means the use or threatened use of law or legal process, whether administrative, civil, or criminal, in any manner or for any purpose for which the law was not designed, to exert p…

(a) It is unlawful for an individual or a business knowingly to use coercion to cause a person to provide labor or services. (b) It is unlawful for an individual or a business knowingly to place or keep any person in debt bondage.

It is unlawful for an individual or a business to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, or maintain by any means a person, knowing, or in reckless disregard of the fact that: (1) Coercion will be used or is being used to cause the person to provide labor or service…

(a) It is unlawful for an individual or a business knowingly to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, or maintain by any means a person who will be caused as a result to engage in a commercial sex act knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that the person has…

It is unlawful for an individual or business knowingly to destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate, or possess any actual or purported government identification document, including a passport or other immigration document, or any other actual or purported document, of any person to p…

It is unlawful for an individual or business knowingly to benefit, financially or by receiving anything of value, from voluntarily participating in a venture which has engaged in any act in violation of § 22-1832, § 22-1833, § 22-1834, or § 22-1835, knowing or in reckless disrega…

(a)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, whoever violates § 22-1832, § 22-1833, or § 22-1834 shall be fined not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both. (2) Whoever violates sections § 22-1832, § 22-1833…

(a) In imposing sentence on any individual or business convicted of a violation of this chapter, the court shall order, in addition to any sentence imposed, that the individual or business shall forfeit to the District of Columbia: (1) Any interest in any property, real or person…

In a criminal case in which a person is accused of trafficking in commercial sex, as prohibited by § 22-1833, sex trafficking of children, as prohibited by § 22-1834, or benefitting financially from human trafficking, as prohibited by § 22-1836, reputation or opinion evidence of …

(a) An individual who is a victim of an offense prohibited by § 22-1832, § 22-1833, § 22-1834, § 22-1835 or § 22-1836 may bring a civil action in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The court may award actual damages, compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive…

(a) For the purposes of this section, the term: (1) "Persons engaged in human trafficking or human trafficking-related crimes" includes: (A) Any person who attempts to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, or obtain, or successfully recruits, entices, harbors, transports, …

(a) The Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”), the Child and Family Services Agency (“CFSA”), and the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (“DYRS”) shall provide training on human trafficking to: (1) New law enforcement officers, social workers, and case managers; and (2)…

(a) A person convicted of an eligible offense may apply by motion to the Superior Court for the District of Columbia to vacate the judgment of conviction and expunge all records identifying the movant as having been arrested, prosecuted, or convicted of the offense if the conduct…

(a)(1) If it plainly appears from the face of the motion, any accompanying exhibits, affidavits, and documents, and the record of any prior proceedings, that the movant is not eligible for relief or is not entitled to relief, the Court may dismiss or deny the motion. (2) If the m…

(a) If the Court denies a motion filed under § 22-1844, the Court shall state the reasons for denial in writing. (b) If the Court grants a motion filed under § 22-1844(a), the Court shall vacate the conviction, dismiss the relevant count with prejudice, and, except as provided in…

An order dismissing, granting, or denying a motion filed under§ 22-1844 shall be a final order for purposes of appeal.

(a) For the purposes of this chapter, the term: (1) "Educational or scientific institution" means an entity that: (A) Receives an educational or scientific tax exemption from the federal Internal Revenue Service or the institution's national, state, or local tax authority; or (B)…

(a) Beginning one year after October 1, 2020, a person commits the offense of unlawful distribution of a prohibited animal product if that person knowingly imports, sells, offers for sale, purchases, barters, trades, or possesses with intent to sell a prohibited animal product. (…

(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, a person convicted of unlawful distribution of a prohibited animal product shall: (1) For a first offense, be fined no more than $1,000 or twice the value of the prohibited animal product, whichever is greater, in…

The Mayor, pursuant to subchapter I of Chapter 5 of Title 2, shall issue rules to implement the provisions of this chapter.

If any person in the District related to another person within and not including the fourth degree of consanguinity, computed according to the rules of the Roman or civil law, shall marry or cohabit with or have sexual intercourse with such other so-related person, knowing him or…

(a) It shall be unlawful for a person to knowingly disconnect, damage, disable, temporarily or permanently remove, or use physical force or intimidation to block access to any telephone, radio, computer, or other electronic communication device with a purpose to obstruct, prevent…

Whoever shall be guilty of, or of aiding or abetting in, seizing, confining, inveigling, enticing, decoying, kidnapping, abducting, concealing, or carrying away any individual by any means whatsoever, and holding or detaining, or with the intent to hold or detain, such individual…

Whoever, being of sound memory and discretion, kills another purposely, either of deliberate and premeditated malice or by means of poison, or in perpetrating or attempting to perpetrate an offense punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary, or without purpose to do so kills …

Whoever maliciously places an obstruction upon a railroad or street railroad, or displaces or injures anything appertaining thereto, or does any other act with intent to endanger the passage of any locomotive or car, and thereby occasions the death of another, is guilty of murder…

Whoever with malice aforethought, except as provided in §§ 22-2101, 22-2102, kills another, is guilty of murder in the second degree. For purposes of imprisonment following revocation of release authorized by § 24-403.01(b)(7), murder in the second degree is a Class A felony.

(a) The punishment for murder in the first degree shall be not less than 30 years nor more than life imprisonment without release, except that the court may impose a prison sentence in excess of 60 years only in accordance with § 22-2104.01 or § 24-403.01(b-2). The prosecution sh…

(a) If a defendant is convicted of murder in the first degree, and if the prosecution has given the notice required under § 22-2104(a), a separate sentencing procedure shall be conducted as soon as practicable after the trial has been completed to determine whether to impose a se…

Whoever is guilty of manslaughter shall be sentenced to a period of imprisonment not exceeding 30 years. In addition to any other penalty provided under this section, a person may be fined an amount not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01.

(a) Whoever, with deliberate and premeditated malice, and with knowledge or reason to know that the victim is a law enforcement officer or public safety employee, kills any law enforcement officer or public safety employee engaged in, or on account of, the performance of such off…

(a) Whoever is guilty of soliciting a murder, whether or not such murder occurs, shall be sentenced to a period of imprisonment not exceeding 20 years, a fine not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, or both. (b) Whoever is guilty of soliciting a crime of violence as d…

(a)(1) It shall be unlawful in the District of Columbia for a person knowingly: (A) To sell, deliver, distribute, or provide, or offer or agree to sell, deliver, distribute, or provide any obscene, indecent, or filthy writing, picture, sound recording, or other article or represe…