Title 19, Customs DutiesRelease 119-102
§537 Officers, Informers, and Defendants as Witnesses
Title 19 › CHAPTER 3 — THE TARIFF AND RELATED PROVISIONS › SUBTITLE IV — CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATION › part 5 — enforcement provisions › § 537
Summary
Officers or anyone claiming pay under the Act of June 22, 1874 (chapter 391, 18 Stat. 188) may serve as witnesses in any case about recovering, reducing, or forgiving that pay. They can be questioned and cross-questioned like any other witness and will not lose any right or share in fines, penalties, or forfeitures tied to that testimony. Defendants may also appear, testify, and be questioned and cross-questioned in the same way.
Full Legal Text
Title 19, §537
Customs Duties, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
No officer, or other person entitled to or claiming compensation under any provision of Act June 22, 1874 (chapter 391, 18 Statutes 188) shall be thereby disqualified from becoming a witness in any action, suit, or proceeding for the recovery, mitigation, or remission thereof, but shall be subject to examination and cross-examination in like manner with other witnesses, without being thereby deprived of any right, title, share, or interest in any fine, penalty, or forfeiture to which such examination may relate; and in every such case the defendant or defendants may appear and testify and be examined and cross-examined in like manner.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
section 4 of Act June 22, 1874, referred to in text, providing for compensation to officers of the customs or other persons detecting goods being smuggled, was repealed by act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, § 643, 42 Stat. 989. For corresponding provisions in the Tariff Act of 1930, see section 1619 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
19 U.S.C. § 537
Title 19, Customs Duties
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102