§ Article 109a : Mail Matter — Wrongful Taking, Opening, etc.

Article 109a of the UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 909a) punishes wrongfully taking mail before it is delivered, done with intent to obstruct correspondence or pry into someone’s business or secrets, and separately punishes wrongfully opening, secreting, destroying, or stealing mail before delivery, without requiring that specific intent.

Who It Applies To

Taking: any person subject to the UCMJ who, with intent to obstruct the correspondence of, or pry into the business or secrets of, a person or organization, wrongfully takes mail matter before it is delivered to or received by the addressee.

Opening, secreting, destroying, or stealing: any person subject to the UCMJ who wrongfully opens, secretes, destroys, or steals mail matter before it is delivered to or received by the addressee.

What It Covers

Taking

1. The accused took certain mail matter.
2. The taking was wrongful.
3. The mail matter was taken before it was delivered to or received by the addressee.
4. The taking was with intent to obstruct the correspondence of, or pry into the business or secrets of, any person or organization.

Opening, secreting, destroying, or stealing

1. The accused opened, secreted, destroyed, or stole certain mail matter.
2. The act was wrongful.
3. It occurred before the mail matter was delivered to or received by the addressee.

“Mail matter” means any matter deposited in a postal system of any government, or any authorized depository of that system, or in official mail channels of the United States or one of its agencies, including the armed forces. The value of the mail matter is not an element.

Maximum Punishment

Maximum authorized punishment. Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 5 years.

Sentencing parameters. Category 2 (1–36 months).

The newer sentencing rules apply, subject to the capital-case rules, when the accused is convicted only of offenses committed after 27 December 2023. See How UCMJ Sentencing Rules Apply. The maximum authorized punishment and the applicable sentencing framework do not predict the sentence in a particular case.

Related and Distinguished

Article 109a protects mail until it is delivered to or received by the addressee. Theft of property generally, including mail after delivery, is addressed by Article 121. Depositing obscene matter in the mail is addressed by Article 120a.

What the Provision Does

Under the Manual, the offenses in Article 109a are intended to protect the mail and the mail system. The article covers mail until it is delivered, and it separates taking mail with intent to obstruct correspondence or pry into another’s business or secrets from opening, secreting, destroying, or stealing mail, which does not require that intent.

History

Article 109a was added to the UCMJ by the Military Justice Act of 2016 (Pub. L. 114-328, § 5421), effective January 1, 2019. Before then, these mail offenses were charged as enumerated offenses under Article 134.

Sources

• 10 U.S.C. § 909a (Article 109a, UCMJ)
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 2024 edition, Part IV, ¶ 46
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Appendix 12B and Appendix 12C