18 U.S.C. § 6
Department and agency defined
As used in this title:
The term “department” means one of the executive departments enumerated in section 1 of Title 5, unless the context shows that such term was intended to describe the executive, legislative, or judicial branches of the government.
The term “agency” includes any department, independent establishment, commission, administration, authority, board or bureau of the United States or any corporation in which the United States has a proprietary interest, unless the context shows that such term was intended to be used in a more limited sense.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 72
cases (7 in the last 5 years), 1938–2025 · leading case: Hubbard v. United States, 514 U.S. 695 (1995).
Hubbard v. United States, 514 U.S. 695 (1995). “This commonsense reading is bolstered by the statutory definitions of "department" and "agency" set forth at 18 U. S. C. § 6 . First adopted in 1948, and applicable to all of Title 18, the definitions create a presumption in favor of the ordinary meaning of the terms at issue:…”
United States v. Mary Rose Oakar & Joseph Demio, 111 F.3d 146 (D.C. Cir. 1997). “Noting that the district court had read the definitions of “department” and “agency’’ in 18 U.S.C. § 6 6 to restrict the scope of § 1001, the Court concluded instead that: [t]he context in which this language is used calls for an unrestricted interpretation.”
Novell, Inc. v. United States, 46 Fed. Cl. 601 (Fed. Cl. 2000). “” The Court’s decision was based on an analysis of 18 U.S.C. § 6 , which defines “agency” as it is used in 18 U.”
Trackwell v. United States Gov't, 472 F.3d 1242 (10th Cir. 2007). “§ 1001 , which at the time prohibited such statements “in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States.”
Singer v. United States, 323 U.S. 338 (1945). “1089 , 18 U.S.C. § 6 , which punishes conspiracies "by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States.”
Emery Worldwide Airlines, Inc. v. United States & Fed. Express Corp., 264 F.3d 1071 (Fed. Cir. 2001). “2d 779 (1995), the Supreme Court similarly indicated that statutory text alone should be used to interpret the word “context” in the portion of 18 U.S.C. § 6 that provides: “The term ‘department’ means one of the executive branches enumerated in section 1 [now § 101] of Title 5,…”
Gov't Nat'l Mortg. Ass'n v. Tyre Lee Terry, Individually, & in His Capacity of Clerk, Superior Court of Cobb Cnty., Georgia, 608 F.2d 614 (5th Cir. 1979). “2d 434 (1966), the reviser’s notes to section 451 direct our attention to 18 U.S.C.A. § 6 as a means to interpret the term “agency.”
United States v. Thomas Reyes, 755 F.3d 210 (3d Cir. 2014). “In relevant part, the Hobbs Act criminalizes activity that "obstructs, delays, or affects commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce, by robbery or extortion or attempts or conspires so to do.”
Sharon Puckett, Cross-Appellee v. Tennessee Eastman Co., Cross-Appellant, 889 F.2d 1481 (6th Cir. 1989). “Second, it is also instructive to make reference to 18 U.S.C. § 6 , which defines “agency” for the purposes of Title 18.”
United States v. Hansen, 906 F. Supp. 688 (D.D.C. 1995). “§ 101 and the limiting language of 18 U.S.C. § 6 , 3 the Court held that the “context” was insufficiently clear to depart from the presumptive meaning of “department,” thus limiting it to the departments within the executive branch as enumerated in 5 U.”
United States v. Lincoln Gumbs, 283 F.3d 128 (3d Cir. 2002). “3 Since it is undisputed that Gumbs presented his claims for payment to the GVI, which is neither a “person or officer in the civil, military, or naval service of the United States,” nor a “department or agency” of the United States, as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 6 , he did not…”
United States v. Perlstein, 126 F.2d 789 (3d Cir. 1942). “6 of the Criminal Code 18 U.S.C.A. § 6 , regardless of when, if ever, the particular statute (Selective Service Act of 1917, 50 U.”
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