National Stolen Property Act
The National Stolen Property Act, enacted in 1934, serves as a pivotal federal law in the United States aimed at addressing issues related to stolen goods and their commerce. Initially an extension of the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act of 1919, this legislation broadened the scope to include a variety of stolen items, establishing stricter regulations on the interstate trade of goods valued over five thousand dollars that were obtained unlawfully. The act targets not only the theft itself but also holds accountable those who knowingly accept stolen property. While the maximum prison sentences for violations remain capped at ten years, the penalties have evolved, with fines now subject to judicial discretion rather than fixed amounts. The legislation has also been amended to cover a range of criminal activities, including art theft and cybercrime, reflecting its adaptability to various forms of theft. Importantly, it exempts certain fraudulent securities associated with government entities. This act plays a significant role in the legal framework surrounding property crime in the United States.
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National Stolen Property Act
The Law: Federal legislation that makes trading and transporting many categories of stolen goods across state lines a federal crime
Date: Became law on May 22, 1934
Significance: The National Stolen Property Act—and its many revisions—is a crucial federal law-enforcement tool that has been used to prosecute offenders in a wide range of criminal activities.
Since it was first passed in 1934, the National Stolen Property Act has been revised numerous times. The law was originally enacted to broaden the provisions of the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act of 1919 to include stolen goods other than automobiles. The new law increased regulations on interstate commerce and trade shipments worth at least five thousand dollars that were fraudulently obtained or stolen. The law was also broadened to cover persons who knowingly accepted pilfered goods or securities. However, the act does not apply to fraudulent securities connected to the U.S. or foreign governments.
Punishments for offenders convicted under the original National Stolen Property Act included maximum fines of ten thousand dollars and prison sentences not to exceed ten years. Revisions to the law have left the maximum prison sentences unchanged, but maximum fines are now left open to judicial discretion. Other amendments to the law have added other categories of stolen goods, such as fraudulent state tax stamps and counterfeiting materials. The law has been used to prosecute criminals in a wide variety of criminal fields, ranging from art and antiquity theft, to espionage and cybercrime.
Bibliography
Friedman, Lawrence M. American Law in the Twentieth Century. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2002.
Gonzalez, Jorge C. “Punishing the Causer as the Principal: Mens Rea and the Interstate Transportation Element of the National Stolen Property Act. ”San Diego Law Review 38, no. 2 (2001): 629.