Seals of courts; signatures of judges or court officers
Official text prohibited actmental stateif conditionpenaltylegal term
Whoever forges the signature of any judge, register, or other officer of any court of the United States, or of any Territory thereof, or forges or counterfeits the seal of any such court, or knowingly concurs in using any such forged or counterfeit signature or seal, for the purpose of authenticating any proceeding or document, or tenders in evidence any such proceeding or document with a false or counterfeit signature of any such judge, register, or other officer, or a false or counterfeit seal of the court, subscribed or attached thereto, knowing such signature or seal to be false or counterfeit, shall be or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
History: (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 714 (PDF, 39 MB); Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §330016(1)(K), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147 (PDF, 52 MB).)
Simplified explanation
It is a federal crime to forge the signature of a federal judge or other court officer, or to fake the seal of a federal court, to make a court document look real. It is also a crime to knowingly use or hand in as evidence a document with a fake signature or seal.