District of Columbia Code
Chapter 33 - Trespass; Injuries to Property
§ 22–3310. Destroying vines, bushes, shrubs, trees or protections thereof; penalty

It shall be unlawful for any person willfully to top, cut down, remove, girdle, break, wound, destroy, or in any manner injure any vine, bush, shrub, or tree not owned by that person, or any of the boxes, stakes or any other protection thereof, under a penalty not to exceed, for each and every such offense:
(1) In the case of any tree 55 inches or greater in circumference when measured at a height of four and one half feet, a fine of not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both; or
(2) For vines, bushes, shrubs, and smaller trees, a fine of not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01 or imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both.
(July 29, 1892, 27 Stat. 324, ch. 320, § 13; June 19, 2001, D.C. Law 13-314,§ 3, 48 DCR 2076; June 12, 2003, D.C. Law 14-309, § 201, 50 DCR 888; Apr. 13, 2005, D.C. Law 15-354, § 21(b), 52 DCR 2638; June 11, 2013, D.C. Law 19-317, § 214(d), 60 DCR 2064.)
1981 Ed., § 22-3110.
1973 Ed., § 22-3110.
D.C. Law 13-314 substituted “$500” for “$50”.
D.C. Law 14-309 rewrote the section which had read as follows: “It shall not be lawful for any person or persons to girdle, break, wound, destroy, or in any manner injure any of the trees growing or planted and set, or which may hereafter be planted and set on any of the public grounds, open space, or squares or on any private lot, or on any of the streets, or avenues, roads or highways, in the District of Columbia, or any of the boxes, stakes, or any other protection thereof, under a penalty of not exceeding $500 for each and every such offense; and if any person or persons shall tie or in any manner fasten a horse or horses to any of the trees, boxes, or other protection thereof on any streets or avenues, roads, or highways, on any of the public grounds belonging to the United States, or on any of the streets, avenues, or alleys, in the District of Columbia, each and every such offender shall forfeit and pay for each offense a sum not exceeding $10.”
D.C. Law 15-354, in subsecs. (a) and (b), validated a previously made technical correction.
The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-317 substituted “a fine of not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01” for “$15,000” in (1), and for “$5,000” in (2).
Conduct of prosecutions under this section, see § 22-1809.
Cutting down or destroying things on the land of another, see § 22-3308.
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 214(d) of the Criminal Fine Proportionality Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-45, April 1, 2013, 60 DCR 5400, 20 DCSTAT 1300).
Applicability of D.C. Law 19-317: Section 401 of D.C. Law 19-317 provided that the act shall apply only to offenses committed on or after June 11, 2013.

Structure District of Columbia Code

District of Columbia Code

Title 22 - Criminal Offenses and Penalties

Chapter 33 - Trespass; Injuries to Property

§ 22–3301. Forcible entry and detainer

§ 22–3302. Unlawful entry on property

§ 22–3303. Grave robbery; buying or selling dead bodies

§ 22–3304. Depredation of fixtures in houses. [Repealed]

§ 22–3305. Placing explosives with intent to destroy or injure property

§ 22–3306. Defacing books, manuscripts, publications, or works of art

§ 22–3307. Destroying or defacing public records

§ 22–3308. Cutting down or destroying things growing on or attached to the land of another. [Repealed]

§ 22–3309. Destroying boundary markers

§ 22–3310. Destroying vines, bushes, shrubs, trees or protections thereof; penalty

§ 22–3311. Disorderly conduct in public buildings or grounds; injury to or destruction of United States property

§ 22–3312. Destroying or defacing buildings, statues, or monuments. [Repealed]

§ 22–3312.01. Defacing public or private property

§ 22–3312.02. Defacement of certain symbols; display of certain emblems

§ 22–3312.03. Wearing hoods or masks. [Repealed]

§ 22–3312.03a. Abatement of graffiti. [Repealed]

§ 22–3312.03b. Collection against owner. [Repealed]

§ 22–3312.04. Penalties

§ 22–3312.05. Definitions

§ 22–3313. Destroying or defacing building material for streets

§ 22–3314. Destroying cemetery railing or tomb

§ 22–3315. Offenses against property of electric lighting, heating, or power companies [Repealed]

§ 22–3316. Tapping gas pipes [Repealed]

§ 22–3317. Tapping or injuring water pipes; tampering with water meters [Repealed]

§ 22–3318. Malicious pollution of water

§ 22–3319. Placing obstructions on or displacement of railway tracks

§ 22–3320. Obstructing public road; removing milestones

§ 22–3321. Obstructing public highway

§ 22–3322. Fines under § 22-3321 to be collected in name of United States