18 U.S.C. § 1585

Seizure, detention, transportation or sale of slaves

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Whoever, being a citizen or resident of the United States and a member of the crew or ship’s company of any foreign vessel engaged in the slave trade, or whoever, being of the crew or ship’s company of any vessel owned in whole or in part, or navigated for, or in behalf of, any citizen of the United States, lands from such vessel, and on any foreign shore seizes any person with intent to make that person a slave, or decoys, or forcibly brings, carries, receives, confines, detains or transports any person as a slave on board such vessel, or, on board such vessel, offers or attempts to sell any such person as a slave, or on the high seas or anywhere on tide water, transfers or delivers to any other vessel any such person with intent to make such person a slave, or lands or delivers on shore from such vessel any person with intent to sell, or having previously sold, such person as a slave, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than seven years, or both.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 7 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2004–2025 · leading case: Sarah Roe v. Linda Howard

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Sarah Roe v. Linda Howard (2019) ca4 “, 18 U.S.C. § 1585 (prohibiting, inter alia, seizure of persons "on any foreign shore" with "intent to make that person a slave").”

Kolbek v. Truck Insurance Exchange (2014) ark “3 The complaint’s initial allegations against JEA asserted that JEA (1) was negligent in hiring Tony Alamo; (2) was negligent in supervising and retaining Tony Alamo; (3) was vicariously hable as the employer of Tony Alamo for Alamo’s acts “in the course and scope of his…”

United States v. Williams (2011) dcd “18 U.S.C. § 1585 (a). The Secretary has promulgated rules to this effect, providing that “[military and civil special agents assigned to the Defense Criminal Investigative Organizations are .”

In Re African-American Slave Descendants Litigation (2004) ilnd “*1068 The court notes that the vagueness of Plaintiffs’ Complaint prevents a thorough choice of law analysis. 31 .”

Hawkins v. Man Tech International Corporation (2024) dcd · cites it 3× “See 18 U.S.C. §§ 1585 , 1586. When it provided a civil remedy to victims of violations of the statute three years later, it did so without limitation, making the civil reach of the statute coextensive with its criminal reach: “[a]n individual who is a victim of a violation of…”

Marfoe v. Discover Financial Services LLC (2025) ilnd · cites it 3× “§ 1581 ; and Count VI: sale into involuntary servitude under 18 U.S.C. § 1585 ). Discover has moved to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim.”

United States v. Williams (2011) dcd “18 U.S.C. § 1585 (a). The Secretary has promulgated rules to this effect, providing that “[m]ilitary and civil special agents assigned to the Defense Criminal Investigative Organizations are .”

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