122-611: The Comstock Act of 1873 is a series of current provisions in Federal law that generally criminalize the involvement of the United States Postal Service , its officers, or a common carrier in conveying obscene matter , crime-inciting matter, or certain abortion -related matter. The Comstock Act is largely codified across title 18 of the United States Code and was enacted beginning in 1872 with
244-516: A June 2018 governmental reorganization plan, the Donald Trump administration proposed turning USPS into "a private postal operator" which could save costs through measures like delivering mail fewer days per week, or delivering to central locations instead of door to door. There was strong bipartisan opposition to the idea in Congress. In April 2020, Congress approved a $ 10 billion loan from
366-538: A New York law against disseminating contraceptive information. In 1932, Margaret Sanger arranged for a shipment of diaphragms to be mailed from Japan to a sympathetic physician in New York City. When U.S. customs confiscated the package as unlawful contraceptives, Sanger aided that physician in filing a lawsuit to contest the seizure. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in
488-550: A biased tone, and being an example of forum shopping . Biopharmaceutical groups were also critical of judge Kacsmaryk, claiming his ruling "set a precedent for diminishing FDA's authority over drug approvals, and in so doing, [created] uncertainty for the entire biopharma industry". Upon appeal (six days later) to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit , some of the ruling by judge Kacsmaryk
610-943: A board member its new parent, XPO Logistics , whose postal contracts expanded during DeJoy's postmaster general role—was a major donor and fundraiser for the Republican Party (from 2017, a deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee , until appointed postmaster general, and later million-dollar donor to the 2020 Trump campaign while postmaster general). DeJoy immediately began taking measures to reduce costs, such as banning overtime and extra trips to deliver mail. While DeJoy admitted that these measures were causing delays in mail delivery , he said they would eventually improve service. More than 600 high-speed mail sorting machines were scheduled to be dismantled and removed from postal facilities, raising concerns that mailed ballots for
732-406: A case-by-case basis, but that restriction must be justified via a compelling interest , while the restriction must be a reasonable means for attaining that goal. The ruling has also been cited as an important precedent on the right of the public to receive information in the form of advertising, particularly for products or services that are politically controversial or for which precise information
854-604: A constitutional right in its own regard. Furthermore, the Supreme Court ruled that commercial speech , at least for products or services that are legal, qualifies for First Amendment protection. In Blackmun's words, referring to newspaper ads in particular, "speech is not stripped of First Amendment protection merely because it appears in that form." This finding was supported by precedents such as New York Times v. Sullivan . Per another precedent, Ginzburg v. U.S. , "The existence of 'commercial activity, in itself,
976-473: A crucial component of what was later dubbed the commercial speech doctrine, in which advertisements can face limited restrictions in the event of describing illegal products and services, and hence somewhat less protection that personal speech, but otherwise advertisements are considered to be speech under the First Amendment. Subsequently, governments may have a reason to restrict a particular ad on
1098-603: A federal lawsuit challenging the FDA's approval of mifepristone from back in the year 2000. Trial court hearings in the case occurred on March 15, 2023. On April 7, 2023, Matthew Kacsmaryk , a district judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas , ruled at the trial-level in that case, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration , that
1220-426: A fine, a jail sentence of up to 5 years for a first offense, a jail sentence of up to 10 years for any subsequent offense, or a combination of a jail sentence and a fine, as is stated in its text. There exists two elements to an offense under section 1461. First, it must relate to that described; chiefly, either obscene or pertaining to abortion. Second, a person must knowingly mail, cause to be mailed, or remove from
1342-574: A follow-on to Roth , the Supreme Court ruled that material pertaining to homosexuality is not ipso facto obscene and later reaffirming the conclusion in MANual Enterprises v. Day (1962). The Miller test is the obscenity test currently applied to the Comstock Act, as explained in the opinion for Hamling v. United States (1974). With respect to the Comstock Act's references to abortion, which currently have not been removed as had
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#17327732404631464-633: A high number of packages, and an electric delivery vehicle produced in partnership with Canoo that is a "pod-like" smaller van. The Department of Defense and the USPS jointly operate a postal system to deliver mail for the military ; this is known as the Army Post Office (for Army and Air Force postal facilities) and the Fleet Post Office (for Navy , Marine Corps , and Coast Guard postal facilities). In fiscal year 2022,
1586-469: A long time) has not garnered widespread support in U.S. courts. The law has had some prosecutions in recent years, though enforcement of the Act's provisions has shifted from obscenity generally to primarily being a tool in securing child pornography convictions, as evidenced by federal appellate court decisions from 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2022. The most recent conviction made under the Comstock Act, with five of
1708-546: A monopoly on traditional letter delivery within the U.S. and operates under a universal service obligation (USO), both of which are defined across a broad set of legal mandates, which obligate it to provide uniform price and quality across the entirety of its service area. The Post Office has exclusive access to letter boxes marked "U.S. Mail" and personal letterboxes in the U.S., but has to compete against private package delivery services, such as United Parcel Service , FedEx , and DHL . The first national postal agency in
1830-461: A plan to close about 3,700 small post offices. Various representatives in Congress protested, and the Senate passed a bill that would have kept open all post offices farther than 10 miles (16 km) from the next office. In May 2012, the service announced it had modified its plan. Instead, rural post offices would remain open with reduced retail hours (some as little as two hours per day) unless there
1952-567: A similar line of interpretation towards 18 U.S.C. § 1462 and Sec. 305. of the Tariff Act of 1930 (or 19 U.S.C. § 1305) respectively. The opinion in Thirty-Seven Photographs was handed down two years prior to Miller v. California (1973) and additionally interpreted a 14-day time limit into beginning forfeitures under Sec. 305 of the Tariff Act of 1930. While the standards for what constitutes obscenity have changed since
2074-555: A state-by-state analysis concluded that 76% of Americans were eligible to vote by mail in 2020, a record number. The analysis predicted that 80 million ballots could be cast by mail in 2020 – more than double the number in 2016. The Postal Service sent letters to 46 states in July 2020, warning that the service might not be able to meet each state's deadlines for requesting and casting last-minute absentee ballots. The House of Representatives voted to include an emergency grant of $ 25 billion to
2196-445: A violation of section 1462 is identical to that provided for violating section 1461. Similarly there exists two elements to an offense under this section. First, the matter in question has to be of the nature described. Second, a person must knowingly commit any of the specified acts (which in this section is either import, carriage in interstate or foreign commerce, or receipt of the specified material) and implicate in connection either
2318-408: Is an important precedent on challenges to government regulation of advertising , determining that such publications qualify as speech under the First Amendment. In 1960, Virginia passed a statute, which in turn was an updated version of a law from 1878, that charged anyone advertising a service that "encourage[s] or prompt[s] the procuring of abortion or miscarriage" with a misdemeanor . In 1971,
2440-531: Is approved (under the brand name Mifeprex), in a regimen with misoprostol (a prostaglandin analogue), for ending of a pregnancy up to 70 days post gestation . Mifepristone is additionally approved on its own (under the brand name Korlym) as a treatment for Cushing's syndrome . Mifepristone is sometimes used, albeit off-label in the United States, for treating fibroids , treating endometriosis , treating miscarriage , or inducing labor . Mifepristone
2562-471: Is aware that his conduct is of that nature...if the element involves a result of his conduct, he is aware that it is practically certain that his conduct will cause such a result." As nothing indicates otherwise, and since a violation of the Act is a non-capital offense, it has a 5-year statute of limitations. In June 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down a 5–4 majority opinion in
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#17327732404632684-532: Is in its scope, which is more limited than 18 U.S.C. § 1461, as it describes three as opposed to the seven particular matters. The three matters specified in 18 U.S.C. § 1462 are: The final Comstock Act provision in chapter 71, title 18, United States Code, found at section 1463 , concerns mailing any of the matters mentioned in section 1461 or 1462 on the outside of a mail piece. Like section 1462, this section came initially as an amendment (contained in Sec. 212.) through
2806-521: Is no justification for narrowing the protection of expression secured by the First Amendment'." Before Bigelow v. Virginia , the American judiciary had only addressed limited disputes over government regulation of commercial speech , and there had been few discussions of whether this wide category of speech qualified for protection under the First Amendment . The Bigelow ruling has become
2928-413: Is now being delivered in two days instead of one. Large commercial mailers can still have first-class mail delivered overnight if delivered directly to a processing center in the early morning, though as of 2014 this represented only 11% of first-class mail. Unsorted first-class mail will continue to be delivered anywhere in the contiguous United States within three days. In July 2011, the USPS announced
3050-420: Is obscene or immoral, or any drug or medicine or any article whatever for causing unlawful abortion, or any lottery ticket, or any printed paper that may be used as a lottery ticket, or any advertisement of any lottery... This provision has two basic aspects. First and foremost, it subjects certain matters to civil forfeiture. Secondly, it provides a number of exceptions. These exceptions are items imported without
3172-506: Is primarily focused on prosecuting child pornography (with the most recent conviction under the Act being made in 2021). In spite of its contentious nature, something that has throughout the years spawned a variety of legal challenges on enumerated powers doctrine , vagueness doctrine , First Amendment grounds , etc., the Comstock Act has thus far been widely upheld as constitutional. The Comstock Act does not criminalize obscenity, criminal incitement, or abortion directly but it criminalizes
3294-497: Is projected to raise approximately $ 50 million per year. (Shipping alcoholic beverages is currently illegal under 18 U.S.C. § 1716 (f).) In 2014, the Postal Service was requesting reforms to workers' compensation, moving from a pension to defined contribution retirement savings plan, and paying senior retiree health care costs out of Medicare funds, as is done for private-sector workers. As part of
3416-465: Is the peak period for the Postal Service, representing a total volume of 11.7 billion packages and pieces of mail during this time in 2022. The USPS operates one of the largest civilian vehicle fleets in the world, with over 235,000 vehicles as of 2024, the majority of which are the distinctive and unique Chevrolet / Grumman LLV (long-life vehicle), and the similar, newer Ford-Utilimaster FFV ( flexible-fuel vehicle ), originally also referred to as
3538-503: The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 forgave the previous $ 10 billion loan. Voting by mail has become an increasingly common practice in the United States, with 25% of voters nationwide mailing their ballots in 2016 and 2018. The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 was predicted to cause a large increase in mail voting because of the possible danger of congregating at polling places. For the 2020 election,
3660-784: The Environmental Protection Agency and an environmental lawsuit, and also due to availability of new funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 . The Act included $ 3 billion for electric USPS vehicles, supporting the initiative by Postmaster General DeJoy and the Biden Administration to add 66,000 electric vehicles to the fleet by 2028. The electric fleet will be composed of 9,250 EVs manufactured by Ford ; 11,750 commercial off-the-shelf EVs; and 45,000 Oshkosh Next Generation Delivery Vehicles . In February 2023,
3782-624: The National Rural Letter Carriers' Association (NRLCA) was contacted for its input on the USPS's current study of the effect of five-day delivery along with developing an implementation plan for a five-day service plan. A team of Postal Service headquarters executives and staff was given a time frame of sixty days to complete the study. The current concept examines the effect of five-day delivery with no business or collections on Saturday, with Post Offices with current Saturday hours remaining open. On Thursday, April 15, 2010,
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3904-472: The November 3 election might not reach election offices on time. Mail collection boxes were removed from the streets in many cities; after photos of boxes being removed were spread on social media, a postal service spokesman said they were being moved to higher traffic areas but that the removals would stop until after the election. The inspector general for the postal service opened an investigation into
4026-718: The Post Office , U.S. Mail , or simply the Postal Service , is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States, its insular areas and associated states . It is one of a few government agencies explicitly authorized by the Constitution of the United States . As of 2023, the USPS has 525,469 career employees and 114,623 non-career employees. The USPS has
4148-589: The Supreme Court 's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022). The majority of the Comstock Act is found in sections 1461 through 1463 of chapter 71, title 18 of the United States Code . The rest of chapter 71, title 18, United States Code, consists of various provisions from the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1988 and the PROTECT Act of 2003 . The first of
4270-606: The Virginia Weekly of Charlottesville published an advertisement for an abortion service provider in New York City. The newspaper's editor, Jeffrey C. Bigelow, was charged with a misdemeanor under the statute. Bigelow was convicted by a local court and was charged a fine. He challenged the conviction at the Virginia Supreme Court with a free speech argument, though the court rejected this argument and upheld Bigelow's conviction. The court's rationale
4392-414: The $ 30 billion delivery budget; door-to-door city delivery costs annually on average $ 353 per stop, curbside $ 224, and cluster box $ 160 (and for rural delivery, $ 278, $ 176, and $ 126, respectively). S.1486, also with the support of Postmaster General Donahoe, would also allow the USPS to ship alcohol in compliance with state law, from manufacturers to recipients with ID to show they are over 21. This
4514-509: The 2010s. In 2012, in order to be able to meet obligations for payroll and continuing its operations, the Postal Service defaulted on payments due for retirements benefits in August and again in September that year. In September 2014, it defaulted on the payments for the fourth time, and continued to default into 2017. The Postal Service sought financial reforms from Congress for relief from
4636-399: The Act stand as it had been written. Due to its age, the Comstock Act has been referred to by some commentators, in publications such as MSNBC and Slate , as a "zombie law". However, the Act remains just as effective as does any other federal law unless repealed or amended. The doctrine of desuetude (a common law concept that a law is repealed by implication if it has not been used in
4758-510: The American Postal Workers Union's arguments that these counters should be staffed by postal employees who earn far more and have "a generous package of health and retirement benefits". On January 28, 2009, Postmaster General John E. Potter testified before the Senate that, if the Postal Service could not readjust its payment toward the contractually funding earned employee retiree health benefits, as mandated by
4880-744: The CRV (carrier route vehicle). The LLVs were built from 1987 to 1994 and lack air conditioning, airbags, anti-lock brakes, and space for the large modern volume of e-commerce packages, the Grumman fleet ended its expected 24-year lifespan in fiscal year 2017. The LLV replacement process began in 2015, and after numerous delays, a $ 6 billion contract was awarded in February 2021 to Oshkosh Defense to finalize design and produce 165,000 vehicles over 10 years. The Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV), will have both gasoline and battery electric versions. Half of
5002-454: The Comstock Act's initial passage, the Act's application to obscenity has been upheld against an array of First Amendment challenges. As an example, in Roth v. United States (1957), a case partially superseded by Miller v. California (1973) as to the particular test used, the Supreme Court upheld the Comstock Act against a First Amendment challenge. In One, Inc. v. Olesen (1958), decided as
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5124-454: The Comstock Act, the term indecent is defined in the text as including "matter of a character tending to incite arson, murder, or assassination". This distinct definition has been narrowed by court rulings to a synonym for obscene. The term obscene is not defined in the actual text of Comstock Act, nor is it defined in the text for much of any of U.S. obscenity law, but the Miller test provides
5246-563: The Comstock Act. While an earlier version did exist, as Sec. 5. of the Act for the Suppression of Trade in, and Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles of Immoral Use, the modern version was initially enacted under Sec. 305. of the Tariff Act of 1930 and is currently codified (in a non-positive law title) at section 1305 of title 19, United States Code . It presently provides that: All persons are prohibited from importing into
5368-549: The Criminal Code Act of 1909. A violation of this section carries a jail term of up to 5 years, a fine, or both as a penalty. This section has no sentence enhancement for prior offenses, unlike section 1461 or 1462. There is one section of the Comstock Act found in title 18, United States Code, which is outside chapter 71. This is 18 U.S.C. § 552 ,and pertains to customs officials acting as principal to certain activity. For abortion-related matter, this section applies to
5490-588: The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing to examine the status of the Postal Service and recent reports on short and long-term strategies for the financial viability and stability of the USPS entitled "Continuing to Deliver: An Examination of the Postal Service's Current Financial Crisis and its Future Viability". At which, PMG Potter testified that by 2020, the USPS cumulative losses could exceed $ 238 billion, and that mail volume could drop 15 percent from 2009. In February 2013,
5612-610: The House and the Senate; President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on April 6, 2022. Congress has limited rate increases for First-Class Mail to the cost of inflation, unless approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission . A three-cent surcharge above inflation increased the 1 oz (28 g) rate to 49¢ in January 2014, but this was approved by the commission for two years only. As of July 14th, 2024
5734-479: The November election. He said he would reinstate overtime hours, roll back service reductions, and halt the removal of mail-sorting machines and collection boxes. However, 95 percent of the mail sorting machines that were planned for removal had already been removed, and according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , DeJoy said he has no intention of replacing them or the mail collection boxes. On December 27, 2020,
5856-676: The Post Office Department, during the Cold War, to redesign stamps to include more patriotic slogans. On March 18, 1970, postal workers in New York City—upset over low wages and poor working conditions, and emboldened by the Civil Rights Movement— organized a strike . The strike initially involved postal workers in only New York City, but it eventually gained support of over 210,000 postal workers across
5978-486: The Postal Accountability & Enhancement Act of 2006, the USPS would be forced to consider cutting delivery to five days per week during June, July, and August. H.R. 22, addressing this issue, passed the House of Representatives and Senate and was signed into law on September 30, 2009. However, Postmaster General Potter continued to advance plans to eliminate Saturday mail delivery. On June 10, 2009,
6100-645: The Postal Service announced its purchase of the Ford EVs as well as 14,000 electric vehicle charging stations. The fleet electrification plan is part of the Postal Service's initiative to reduce carbon emissions from fuel and electricity 40 percent and emissions from contracted services 20 percent by 2030. In August 2024, the USPS deployed the first new vehicles from its fleet modernization project at its Topeka Sorting and Delivery Center in Kansas, including: an electric vehicle with higher clearance for routes delivering
6222-557: The Postal Service contribution to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). Most other employees that contribute to the CSRS have 7% deducted from their wages. Currently, all new employees contribute into Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) once they become a full-time regular employees. Running low on cash, in order to continue operations unaffected and continue to meet payroll, the USPS defaulted for
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#17327732404636344-480: The Postal Service had $ 78.81 billion in revenue and expenses of $ 79.74 billion. Due to one-time appropriations authorized by the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 , the agency reported a net income of $ 56.04 billion. In the 2023 fiscal, revenue had increased to $ 79.32 billion, but reported a net loss of $ 6.48 billion. In 2016, the USPS had its fifth straight annual operating loss, in
6466-533: The Postal Service to offer some non-mail services. As of 2023, the Postal Service operates 33,641 Post Office and contract locations in the U.S., and delivered a total of 127.3 billion packages and pieces of mail to 164.9 million delivery points in fiscal year 2022. USPS delivers mail and packages Monday through Saturday as required by the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 ; on Sundays only Priority Express and packages for Amazon.com are delivered. The USPS delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities. During
6588-415: The Tariff Act of 1930) making an explicit 'illegal intentions' distinction, the fact that the majority of decisions adopting an 'illegal intentions' construction are from United States courts of appeals (that only bind to courts in that particular circuit), and the non-legally-binding nature of historical revision notes in the U.S. Code (unlike statutory notes which do have force of law). Margaret Sanger ,
6710-577: The Treasury to the post office. According to The Washington Post , officials under Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested using the loan as leverage to give the Treasury Department more influence on USPS operations, including making them raise their charges for package deliveries, a change long sought by President Trump. In May 2020, in a controversial move, the Board of Governors of
6832-486: The U.S. Postal Service, and took effect on July 1, 1971. Among the changes from the Postal Reorganization Act, a key aspect was the requirement for the USPS to be self-financing, which introduced a conflict with its other requirement to provide a nationwide service. The next major legislation affecting the service, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, was passed in 2006. This act limited
6954-425: The U.S. Supreme Court again, and with Roe v. Wade having been decided in the interim, the high court took the case in 1975. The high court ruled 7 – 2 in favor of Bigelow and overturned his conviction on First Amendment grounds. The majority opinion was written by Justice Harry Blackmun , who argued that the First Amendment prevents states from prohibiting advertisements for products or services that are legal in
7076-486: The U.S. mail and a common carrier and has been upheld on Commerce Clause grounds, as opposed to Postal Clause grounds, with United States v. Orito (1973) illustrating this. In a separate 1973 case, the Supreme Court would similarly uphold Sec. 305. of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1305) as a valid exercise of authority under the Commerce Clause. The broad language used in the Comstock Act has, mostly in
7198-523: The U.S. mail, a common carrier, or an interactive computer service. In terms of differences to the previous section, section 1462 deviates in that its scope expands to cover the use of a common carrier or interactive computer service. Section 1461 only applies to the U.S. Mail , but section 1462 covers both that and a private package delivery service such as United Parcel Service or Federal Express . An interactive computer service generally includes an internet website . Another difference of 18 U.S.C. § 1462
7320-900: The US, known as the United States Post Office was founded by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia on July 26, 1775, at the beginning of the American Revolution . Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first postmaster general ; he also served a similar position for the American colonies. The Post Office Department was created in 1792 with the passage of the Postal Service Act . The appointment of local postmasters
7442-586: The USPS announced that in order to save about $ 2 billion per year, Saturday delivery service would be discontinued except for packages, mail-order medicines, Priority Mail, Express Mail, and mail delivered to Post Office boxes, beginning August 10, 2013. However, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 , passed in March, reversed the cuts to Saturday delivery. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA) obligated
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#17327732404637564-500: The USPS deliver approximately 380 million home test kits from January 2022 through May 2022. As of March 2024, when the program concluded, the USPS had delivered over 1.8 billion free COVID-19 test kits. In September 2024, the distribution of free at-home COVID-19 tests was re-started. Bigelow v. Virginia Bigelow v. Virginia , 421 U.S. 809 (1975), was a United States Supreme Court decision that established First Amendment protection for commercial speech . The ruling
7686-402: The USPS operated 673 facilities. ) As of May 2012, the plan was to start the first round of consolidation in summer 2012, pause from September to December, and begin a second round in February 2014; 80% of first-class mail would still be delivered overnight through the end of 2013. New delivery standards were issued in January 2015, and the majority of single-piece (not presorted) first-class mail
7808-526: The USPS to fund the present value of earned retirement obligations (essentially past promises which have not yet come due) within a ten-year time span. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the main bureaucratic organization responsible for the human resources aspect of many federal agencies and their employees. The PAEA created the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefit Fund (PSRHB) after Congress removed
7930-496: The United States Postal Service appointed Louis DeJoy , the first postmaster general in the last two decades who did not emerge from the postal bureaucracy. Instead he had three decades of experience in the private delivery sector where he created a new national corporation with 80,000 employees. DeJoy—until 2014 CEO of New Breed Logistics (a controversial Postal Service contractor), and until 2018
8052-607: The United States from any foreign country any book, pamphlet, paper, writing, advertisement, circular, print, picture, or drawing containing any matter advocating or urging treason or insurrection against the United States, or forcible resistance to any law of the United States, or containing any threat to take the life of or inflict bodily harm upon any person in the United States, or any obscene book, pamphlet, paper, writing, advertisement, circular, print, picture, drawing, or other representation, figure, or image on or of paper or other material, or any cast, instrument, or other article which
8174-458: The United States. Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) struck down a contraception-related Comstock-style law in Connecticut . However, Griswold only applied to marital relationships. Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972) extended its holding to unmarried persons as well. In 1971, the U.S. Congress removed the reference to contraceptives from the federal-level Comstock Act, but left much the rest of
8296-503: The addressee is a manufacturer or trader in contraceptives, a physician , a nurse , a pharmacist , a hospital , or a clinic . This provision was ruled unconstitutional in Bolger v. Youngs Drug Products Corp (1983), as-applied to business mailings, due to an as-applied First Amendment challenge. Concerning the definitions used in the Comstock Act, there are three key definitions: indecent, obscene , and knowingly . For purposes of
8418-494: The amount of $ 5.6 billion, of which $ 5.8 billion was the accrual of unpaid mandatory retiree health payments. First-class mail volume peaked in 2001 to 103.65 billion declining to 52.62 billion by 2020 due to the increasing use of email and the World Wide Web for correspondence and business transactions. Private courier services, such as FedEx and United Parcel Service (UPS), directly compete with USPS for
8540-542: The approval of mifepristone was improper, the lifting of REMS restrictions was improper, and the Comstock Act of 1873 made providing medication abortion by mail illegal. This ruling by judge Kacsmaryk conflicted with an opposing same day ruling issued by a U.S. district court in Washington (state) . The ruling by Kacsmaryk was criticized in the Washington Post as using cherry picked scientific data, presenting
8662-414: The attachment of an extraneous rider to a postal service reconsolidation bill. Amended multiple times since initial enactment, most recently in 1996, the Act is nonetheless often associated with U.S. Postal Inspector and anti- vice activist Anthony Comstock . The law was applied broadly for much of its history, before the scope of enforcement narrowed after various court rulings, and modern enforcement
8784-598: The business featured in the ad), though Virginia had attempted to restrict advertising that recommended or enabled the procedure. Since abortion services were at issue in Bigelow's case, the U.S. Supreme Court deferred on the case because Roe v. Wade was pending at the time. The court remanded the case to Virginia for reconsideration in light of recent events, but the Virginia Supreme Court upheld Bigelow's misdemeanor conviction again. Bigelow appealed to
8906-519: The case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022). This decision devolved regulation of abortion back to the states, overturned Roe v. Wade (1973) along with its progeny, and ended the recognition of abortion access as an implied constitutional right. Consequently, the applicability of the Comstock Act to abortion-related articles has become subject to legal dispute. Much of this dispute has arisen concerning mifepristone , an antiprogestogen and antiglucocorticoid drug. Mifepristone
9028-475: The case, United States v. One Package of Japanese Pessaries (1936), that the Comstock Act was not to be construed as interfering with practice of medicine. This holding was in line with the previously mentioned conclusion of the Supreme Court in Linder that "[o]bviously, direct control of medical practice in the states is beyond the power of the federal government", so while the federal government could prohibit
9150-485: The cost of postage increased to 73 cents for first class mail. Comprehensive reform packages considered in the 113th Congress include S.1486 and H.R.2748. These include the efficiency measure, supported by Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe of ending door-to-door delivery of mail for some or most of the 35 million addresses that currently receive it, replacing that with either curbside boxes or nearby "cluster boxes". This would save $ 4.5 billion per year out of
9272-461: The delivery of packages. Lower volume means lower revenues to support the fixed commitment to deliver to every address once a day, six days a week. According to an official report on November 15, 2012, the U.S. Postal Service lost $ 15.9 billion its 2012 fiscal year. In response, the USPS has increased productivity each year from 2000 to 2007, through increased automation, route re-optimization, and facility consolidation. Despite these efforts,
9394-410: The easiest access to roadside mailboxes. Some rural letter carriers use personal vehicles. All contractors use personal vehicles. Standard postal-owned vehicles do not have license plates . These vehicles are identified by a seven-digit number displayed on the front and rear. Starting in 2026, all delivery truck purchases are scheduled to be electric vehicles , partly in response to criticism from
9516-593: The effect of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 which, among other things, added 'dealing in obscene matters' as a predicate offense for purposes of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970 (RICO) . It was initially believed by some scholars that this modification to RICO would get struck down as an unconstitutional burden on First Amendment protected conduct. Nine years after that modification
9638-434: The extent implicating procurement of abortion. This section, currently codified in a positive law title, was first enacted as Sec. 4. of an Act for the Suppression of Trade in, and Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles of Immoral Use. There are four elements to an offense under this section. First, one must be either an officer, employee, or agent of the United States. Second, one must knowingly aid or abet any of
9760-402: The federal government", historical jurisprudence of the Comstock Act in regard to prosecuting delivery of drugs and devices hinged on determining whether a purported use, such as for abortion or contraception , was outside the scope of accepted professional practice in the state of delivery or receipt, and thereby punishable under the Comstock Act. An area of interest to legal scholars concerned
9882-412: The first time on a $ 5.5 billion retirement benefits payment due August 1, 2012, and a $ 5.6 billion payment due September 30, 2012. On September 30, 2014, the USPS failed to make a $ 5.7 billion payment on this debt, the fourth such default. In 2017, the USPS defaulted on some of the last lump-sum payments required by the 2006 law, though other payments were also still required. Proposals to cancel
10004-411: The founder of Planned Parenthood , was charged in 1915 for her work The Woman Rebel . Sanger circulated this work through the U.S. postal service, violating the Comstock Act. On appeal, her conviction was reversed on the grounds that contraceptive devices could legally be promoted for the cure and prevention of disease. Her husband, architect William Sanger , was similarly charged earlier that year under
10126-401: The four weeks preceding Christmas since 2013, packages from all mail classes and senders were delivered on Sunday in some areas. Parcels are also delivered on holidays, with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas. The USPS started delivering Priority Mail Express packages on Christmas Day in select locations for an additional fee. The holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas
10248-595: The funding obligation and debt from the defaults. Legislation was introduced in Congress in 2016 as well as in 2019, aiming to remove the benefits funding obligations, however no new legislation was passed until the 2022 Postal Service Reform Act (PSRA). The PSRA was signed into law in April 2022. It forgave $ 57 billion in Postal Service debt and released it from the obligation to set aside funds for future retirees' healthcare, as well as adding requirements for delivery timing and reporting on performance metrics, and allowing
10370-418: The funding obligation and plan a new schedule for the debt were introduced in Congress as early as 2016. A 2019 bill entitled the "USPS Fairness Act", which would have eliminated the pension funding obligation, passed the House but did not proceed further. As of March 8, 2022, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 , which includes a section entitled "USPS Fairness Act" cancelling the obligation, has passed both
10492-539: The importer's knowledge, bulk abortion-related materials not intended for unlawful use, classic books of recognized merit when permitted by the Secretary of the Treasury , and lottery tickets printed in Canada after 1993 for use in lotteries within the United States. The last section of the Comstock Act is found at 39 U.S.C. § 3001 in subsection (e), and it declares that unsolicited contraceptives are non-mailable unless
10614-441: The initial 50,000 vehicles will be electric, as will all vehicles purchased after 2026. The number of gallons of fuel used in 2009 was 444 million, at a cost of US$ 1.1 billion . For every penny increase in the national average price of gasoline, the USPS spends an extra US$ 8 million per year to fuel its fleet. The fleet is notable in that many of its vehicles are right-hand drive , an arrangement intended to give drivers
10736-510: The lottery circular law and the original provision of the Comstock Act (18 U.S.C. § 1461) as being valid exercises of Congressional authority under the Postal Clause . This holding concerning the Comstock Act's initial provision was reaffirmed in later cases like Roth v. United States (1957), United States v. Reidel (1971), and Smith v. United States (1977). The 1909 amendment to the Comstock Act (18 U.S.C. § 1462) applies to both
10858-497: The mail, anything specified. The following is a brief summary of the matters covered: There are a number of implications with these specifics listed in 18 U.S.C. § 1461. First, as summarized in points 1, 2, and 3 above, this section outright criminalizes activities related to the mailing of three categories of objects and to this extent has been upheld as constitutionally valid by the Supreme Court. Second, as summarized in point 4 above, this section criminalizes activities related to
10980-511: The mailing of contraceptives outside the course of professional practice, or tax drugs as it had with the Harrison Act at issue in Linder, it was not of the liberty to cast the judgment that a use, otherwise accepted by relevant state medical authorities, was nonetheless beyond the realm of legitimate professional practice, as regulation of medical practice is addressed at the state level in
11102-439: The mailing of information providing as to from who, where, what, or how an article, already criminalized from being mailed outright, may be obtained or made. Although it holds little precedential value, as it was a decision by a United States district court, this provision was ruled unconstitutional (for being overbroad ) in United States v. Goldstein (1976). Third, laws prohibiting conveyance of material providing information on
11224-461: The mifepristone REMS disproportionately posed a barrier to abortion access by members of marginalized groups . Beginning in 2016 and expanded in 2021, the FDA removed much the restrictions imposed by the REMS requirements. This action by the FDA decreased barriers to mifepristone access, so mifepristone has since became more common as an abortion medication in the United States. Following the outcome in
11346-489: The most current definition used by courts when judging obscenity. The Miller Test has three prongs which are as follows: For reference, under the Model Penal Code , a guide often used to assist in legislative drafting, the knowingly criminal knowledge requirement, the second most stringent behind purposely , is defined as follows: "A person acts knowingly with respect to a material element of an offense when...he
11468-498: The nation. While the strike ended without any concessions from the federal government, it did ultimately allow for postal worker unions and the government to negotiate a contract which gave the unions most of what they wanted, as well as the signing of the Postal Reorganization Act by President Richard Nixon on August 12, 1970. The act replaced the cabinet-level Post Office Department with a new federal agency,
11590-412: The nine charges being brought forth under 18 U.S.C. § 1462, was that of Thomas Alan Arthur, a Texas man who was sentenced in 2021 to 40 years in federal prison for his role as the operator of an internet site which acted as a paid repository of obscene writings and drawings pertaining to child sexual abuse. According to FBI agent Roger Young, the Comstock Act and other federal obscenity laws were initially
11712-516: The only tools available for federal authorities to prosecute child pornography: All along [my career], I had some national and international child pornography cases and cases involving child prostitution. But when I [first] began working child pornography cases early in 1977, there were no child porn laws. We [the FBI] used obscenity laws to prosecute child porn. This change in enforcement, from general obscenity to an emphasis on child sexual abuse material,
11834-410: The organization saw an $ 8.5 billion budget shortfall in 2010, and was losing money at a rate of about $ 3 billion per quarter in 2011. On December 5, 2011, the USPS announced it would close more than half of its mail processing centers, eliminate 28,000 jobs and reduce overnight delivery of First-Class Mail. This will close down 252 of its 461 processing centers. (At peak mail volume in 2006,
11956-478: The particular effect of section 1461 as applied to FDA-approved drugs. On June 13, 2024, the Supreme Court unanimously held that the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine did not have standing (no plaintiff suffered a concrete and particularized injury-in-fact) sufficient to bring the case, and thereby the Supreme Court avoided a direct ruling on whether the Comstock Act applies to mifepristone or whether mifepristone
12078-620: The post office to facilitate the predicted flood of mail ballots, but the bill never reached the Senate floor for a vote. A March 2021 report from the Postal Service's inspector general found that the vast majority of mail-in ballots and registration materials in the 2020 election were delivered to the relevant authorities on time. The Postal Service handled approximately 135 million pieces of election-related mail between September 1 and November 3, delivering 97.9% of ballots from voters to election officials within three days, and 99.89% of ballots within seven days. Postmaster General DeJoy helped
12200-482: The procurement of legal abortion were ruled unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds in Bigelow v. Virginia (1975). As far as illegal abortion procurement is concerned, that is criminal solicitation and the First Amendment affords no constitutional protection. It has been noted in one scholarly article that successful prosecution for criminal solicitation of abortion under this Act would be difficult as nothing in
12322-402: The recent changes. On August 16 the House of Representatives was called back from its summer recess to consider a bill rolling back all of the changes. On August 18, 2020, after days of heavy criticism and the day after lawsuits against the Postal Service and DeJoy personally were filed in federal court by several individuals, DeJoy announced that he would roll back all the changes until after
12444-406: The reference to contraceptives, historical interpretation has generally construed this as applying to articles intended for unlawful abortion, reconciling it with Sec. 305. of the Tariff Act of 1930, which does make such a distinction. Moreover, as the Supreme Court held, in Linder v. United States (1925), that "[o]bviously, direct control of medical practice in the states is beyond the power of
12566-638: The section with the Miller test . Later, in Smith v. United States (1977), the Supreme Court would push back against another vagueness argument (this time presented as an as-applied challenge ). Writing for the court, Justice Harry Blackmun , best known for writing the opinion delivered in Roe v. Wade (1973), would go on to explicitly state the following: Neither do we [the Supreme Court] find § 1461 unconstitutionally vague as applied here. Our construction of
12688-430: The services that the Postal Service could offer to only those it already provided and also established a requirement for the USPS to save money for the medical benefits of future retirees. The Act set a goal to save $ 5 billion per year for the first 10 years of a 50-year schedule, however within 6 years the Postal Service began to default on its payments. The Postal Service experienced lower revenues as mail use declined in
12810-431: The specified offenses (importing, advertising, dealing, exhibiting, sending, or receiving). Third, the knowing aiding or abetting by an officer, employee, or agent of the United States must implicate use of the mail. Fourth, the offense must implicate any of the matters specified. These are summarized below: In addition to the criminal importation provisions under section 1462, there is also a civil forfeiture provision of
12932-629: The state where such an ad is published. The court found that the Virginia statute was overbroad because it targeted persons who merely discussed or advertised objectionable conduct without engaging in that conduct themselves, while abortion itself was legal in Virginia at the time. Meanwhile, in the wake of the Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973, the court noted that the Virginia statute attempted to outlaw political speech on an issue (abortion) of clear public interest, while that procedure had since been declared
13054-553: The statute flows directly from the decisions in Hamling , Miller , Reidel , and Roth . As construed in Hamling , the type of conduct covered by the statute can be ascertained with sufficient ease to avoid due process pitfalls. Similarly, the possibility that different juries might reach different conclusions as to the same material does not render the statute unconstitutional. United States v. 12 200-ft Reels of Film (1973) and United States v. Thirty-Seven Photographs (1971) adopted
13176-414: The text specifies which of the laws on either end of the solicitation govern the legality, nor whether state or federal law would govern. The second of the three primary sections of the Comstock Act is codified in a positive law title at section 1462 of chapter 71, title 18, United States Code. It was initially enacted under Sec. 211 of the Criminal Code Act of 1909 on March 4, 1909. The punishment for
13298-534: The three sections of the Comstock Act which are contained under chapter 71, title 18, United States Code, is section 1461 . This is the initial Comstock Act provision, as currently amended, and it was first enacted as an extraneous rider under Sec. 148 of an Act to revise, consolidate, and amend the Statutes relating to the Post-office Department. The punishment for violating section 1461 is either
13420-440: The thus mentioned Dobbs decision, various actors in the anti-abortion movement began efforts in a campaign of litigation (explained in further detail below) and passing ordinances, citing the Comstock Act in the process, with the ultimate goal being restricted access to mifepristone, and abortion more broadly, in the United States. In March 2023, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, an anti-abortion group founded in 2022, filed
13542-408: The use of the mail, a common carrier, or an interactive computer service in the conveyance of these materials. Since abortion pills like mifepristone are used in over 50% of American abortions, the Comstock Act has been the focus of increased legal, political, and media attention as actors in the U.S. anti-abortion movement seek to utilize it to restrict abortion access in the United States following
13664-402: The years since the Dobbs decision, lead to some opining that the Comstock Act, particularly 18 U.S.C. § 1461, is unconstitutionally vague. However, the understanding built by the surrounding case law has been largely dismissive of vagueness challenges. For instance, in Hamling v. United States (1974), the Supreme Court would uphold section 1461 by adopting a saving construction that conformed
13786-684: Was a community preference for a different option. In a survey of rural customers, 54% preferred the new plan of retaining rural post offices with reduced hours, 20% preferred the "Village Post Office" replacement (where a nearby private retail store would provide basic mail services with expanded hours), 15% preferred merger with another Post Office, and 11% preferred expanded rural delivery services. In 2012, USPS reported that approximately 40% of postal revenue comes from online purchases or private retail partners including Walmart , Staples , Office Depot , Walgreens , Sam's Club , Costco , and grocery stores. The National Labor Relations Board agreed to hear
13908-605: Was a major venue for delivering patronage jobs to the party that controlled the White House. Newspaper editors often were named. It was elevated to a cabinet-level department in 1872, and was transformed by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 into the U.S. Postal Service as an independent agency. Since the early 1980s, many direct tax subsidies to the USPS (with the exception of subsidies for costs associated with disabled and overseas voters) have been reduced or eliminated. The United States Information Agency (USIA) helped
14030-485: Was barred from mailing by the Comstock Act and that FDA approval of mifepristone did not change this. The case was later appealed from the Fifth Circuit to the Supreme Court. During oral arguments before the United States Supreme Court on March 26, 2024, regarding the regulatory status of mifepristone, Justice Samuel Alito asked Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar about the Comstock Act,
14152-698: Was bolstered by the Reagan Administration and by the outcome in New York v. Ferber (1982), a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court unanimously held that child pornography is not protected by the First Amendment . President Reagan made child sexual abuse prosecution a priority during his administration and stated in 1987, "this Administration is putting the purveyors of illegal obscenity and child pornography on notice: your industry's days are numbered." United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service ( USPS ), also known as
14274-479: Was decided over a "technicality". Ex parte Jackson (1878) was the first case brought before the Supreme Court of the United States that considered the constitutionality of the Comstock Act. While primarily pertaining to a facial challenge mounted against a federal law barring the mailing of lottery items, the Court nonetheless made reference to the Comstock Act. In doing, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed both
14396-470: Was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000, and this approval was accompanied by a REMS requirement that imposed restrictions on its access. These restrictions were imposed for largely political reasons, and mifepristone is safe and effective for both supervised use in medication abortion , as well as self-administration in self-managed medication abortion . The restrictions imposed by
14518-505: Was made to RICO, this concern would be answered as the Supreme Court, in Alexander v. United States (1993), upheld, against a First Amendment challenge, a RICO forfeiture pertaining to obscenity. There has been scholarly analysis, using a textualist framework, which argues that the historical framing of the Act in the context of abortion is ill-supported due to nothing in the Comstock Act's text (other than that resurfaced as Sec. 305. of
14640-418: Was partially stayed and some of the claims presented were thrown out, although a sizable portion of Kacsmaryk's ruling emerged unscathed. The challenges to mifepristone's initial approval were barred, but the challenges to the lifting of REMS restrictions were allowed to go forward. In the appellate review, circuit judge James C. Ho dissented from the majority and argued, like judge Kacsmaryk, that mifepristone
14762-526: Was properly approved. Reproductive healthcare experts such as physician Daniel Grossman considered the case outcome a narrow reprieve, expressing disappointment that it even made it before the Supreme Court in the first place, and remarking "[m]ifepristone and medication abortion are broadly in the crosshairs of the anti-abortion movement". Legal counsel representing the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine were unimpressed, with chief counsel Erin Hawley claiming it
14884-496: Was that per precedent, commercial advertisements received lesser free speech protection than personal or political speech. Bigelow, now represented by the American Civil Liberties Union , appealed the ruling to the United States Supreme Court in 1972. At the time of Bigelow's conviction, abortion was not illegal in either Virginia (where the advertisement was published) or New York (the location of
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