Okay.<p>So, this is a pretty heated debate :)<p>As someone kinda correctly identified, here is what happens:<p>Agencies are either directed by congress to make certain regulations, or more broadly delegated rulemaking authority.<p>They exercise that rulemaking authority through an administrative rulemaking and publishing process that ends up with stuff in the CFR.<p>This part is simple.
You can find a parallel table GPO&#x2F;etc conveniently publishes, of which USC code gave rulemaking authority for which CFR parts here:
<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gpo.gov&#x2F;help&#x2F;parallel_table.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gpo.gov&#x2F;help&#x2F;parallel_table.pdf</a><p>I honestly feel bad for the person who has to keep that up to date.<p>Now, the larger question that was asked - can you be sentenced to jail for violating a CFR.
The answer is &quot;yes&quot;. You will likely be charged with some USC  violation, whose regulations&#x2F;etc are interpreted through some CFR regulations.<p>a good example of a law that has criminal penalties and CFR regulations is HIPAA. See the aptly titled &quot;who goes to jail&quot; - <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ehcca.com&#x2F;presentations&#x2F;HIPAA3&#x2F;malone_2.pdf" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ehcca.com&#x2F;presentations&#x2F;HIPAA3&#x2F;malone_2.pdf</a><p>Notice the regulations are in the CFR, violations of them are explicitly punishable  under USC (IE &quot;knowingly and in violation of the regulation ....&quot;). With criminal penalties.<p>Now, this is not the same as the related question of &quot;can you be sentenced to jail by the FCC for violating the CFR.  The answer to this is &quot;well, maybe&quot;.<p>The courts these agencies set up, and their administrative law judges, tribunals, whatever, are generally known as article I courts.<p>The current state of the law on article I courts is kind of a mess. In general, they have some power, but if it involves deprivation of life liberty or property, it must at a minimum meet various requirements (including being reviewable by a standard article III court).<p>Honestly, this is a super-complex and super-esoteric topic to get into on hacker news.<p>So yeah, you should worry about the CFR, but you maybe shouldn&#x27;t worry the FCC will throw you in jail. It&#x27;ll be federal prosecutors instead :)