§559 — Title 16 Conservation | U.S. Code

Summary

Forest Service employees can arrest people who break laws or rules in national forests. Anyone arrested must be taken to the nearest U.S. magistrate judge whose area includes the forest for trial. A U.S. magistrate judge can order an arrest if a qualified person files a sworn statement. Federal officers can also arrest someone without a warrant if they catch them in the act.

Title 16, §559

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

All persons employed in the Forest Service of the United States shall have authority to make arrests for the violation of the laws and regulations relating to the national forests, and any person so arrested shall be taken before the nearest United States magistrate judge, within whose jurisdiction the forest is located, for trial; and upon sworn information by any competent person any United States magistrate judge in the proper jurisdiction shall issue process for the arrest of any person charged with the violation of said laws and regulations; but nothing herein contained shall be construed as preventing the arrest by any officer of the United States, without process, of any person taken in the act of violating said laws and regulations.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification “Forest Service of the United States” substituted for “forest reserve of the United States” as the probable intent of Congress in that the federal forest reserves were transferred from Department of the Interior to Department of Agriculture by act Feb. 1, 1905, ch. 288, § 1, 33 Stat. 628, and administration of forest reserves was placed in Forest Service which was created by that act. Words “national forests” and “forest” substituted for “forest reserves” and “reservation”, respectively, on authority of act Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2907, 34 Stat. 1269, which provided that forest reserves shall hereafter be known as national forests. That part of act Mar. 3, 1905, which related to arrests by employees of the National Park Service for violations of laws and

Regulations

, was (prior to the amendment made by Pub. L 94–458) classified to section 10 of this title.

Amendments

1976—Pub. L. 91–383, § 10(a)(2), as added Pub. L. 94–458, struck out “and national parks” after “national forests” and “or national park” after “jurisdiction the forest”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

“United States magistrate judge” substituted for “United States magistrate” wherever appearing in text pursuant to section 321 of Pub. L. 101–650, set out as a note under section 631 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. Previously, “United States magistrate” substituted for “United States commissioner” pursuant to Pub. L. 90–578. See chapter 43 (§ 631 et seq.) of Title 28.

§559 Arrests by Employees of Forest Service for Violations of Laws and Regulations