GWiens2001 wrote:I am definitely not a lawyer. But the mail box on the street that the customer paid to install at their own house still falls under federal jurisdiction.
No , normally they belong to the property owner. The property owner is responsible for all maintenance and repairs.
It is a whole different set of regulations if you are on Post Office property. (See note at bottom of this post.)
The lock that the mail carrier opens on a gang of mail boxes is PO property and duplication or replacement of THAT key will get you in hot water. The lock on an individual box is not.
GWiens2001 wrote:I know somebody who was going into mailboxes in my childhood neighborhood was sent to federal prison for going into them. And those did not have any locks at all, and were never paid for by the feds.
I don't know the specifics , but it was probably for tampering with the mail,not opening the box.
GWiens2001 wrote: Just a word of caution. Personally, unless you are a licensed and bonded locksmith familiar with the laws, I would decline.
I would be very very careful before gaining entry, to be sure you are doing it for the current resident/renter or if owner occupied, by owner.
Pointing and saying "THAT BOX MINE" is not enough, especially if the boxes are not marked with actual addresses, as they tend NOT to be. Closing papers describe all parking, mailbox and other assignments.
Be sure to have a witness that you did nothing more than replace the lock. Specific: DO NOT touch the mail in the box.
"United States Code 18 USC Sec. 1704 deals with United States Post Office keys, and 18 USC Sec. 1386 deals with United States Department of Defense keys.
Whoever steals, purloins, embezzles, or obtains by false pretense any key suited to any lock adopted by the Post Office Department or the Postal Service and in use on any of the mails or bags thereof, or any key to any lock box, lock drawer, or other authorized receptacle for the deposit or delivery of mail matter; or Whoever knowingly and unlawfully makes, forges, or counterfeits any such key, or possesses any such mail lock or key with the intent unlawfully or improperly to use, sell, or otherwise dispose of the same, or to cause the same to be unlawfully or improperly used, sold, or otherwise disposed of; or Whoever, being engaged as a contractor or otherwise in the manufacture of any such mail lock or key, delivers any finished or unfinished lock or the interior part thereof, or key, used or designed for use by the department, to any person not duly authorized under the hand of the Postmaster General and the seal of the Post Office Department or the Postal Service, to receive the same, unless the person receiving it is the contractor for furnishing the same or engaged in the manufacture thereof in the manner authorized by the contract, or the agent of such manufacturer - Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both."
Everyone who eats potatoes eventually dies. Therefore potatoes are poisonous.
