The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the U.S. federal judiciary, although it is an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice and operates under the direction of the U.S. Attorney General.[4][5] It is the oldest U.S. federal law enforcement agency, created by the Judiciary Act of 1789 during the presidency of George Washington as the "Office of the United States Marshal".[6] The USMS as it stands today was established in 1969 to provide guidance and assistance to U.S. Marshals throughout the federal judicial districts.
The Marshals Service is primarily responsible for locating and arresting federal suspects, the administration of fugitive operations, the management of criminal assets, the operation of the United States Federal Witness Protection Program and the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System, the protection of federal courthouses and judicial personnel, and the protection of senior government officials through the Office of Protective Operations. Throughout its history the Marshals have also provided unique security and enforcement services including protecting African American students enrolling in the South during the civil rights movement, escort security for United States Air Force LGM-30 Minuteman missile convoys, law enforcement for the United States Antarctic Program, and protection of the Strategic National Stockpile.[7]
The office of United States Marshal was created by the First Congress. President George Washington signed the Judiciary Act into law on September 24, 1789.[8] The Act provided that a United States Marshal's primary function was to execute all lawful warrants issued to him under the authority of the United States. The law defined marshals as officers of the courts charged with assisting federal courts in their law-enforcement functions:
And be it further enacted, That a marshal shall be appointed in and for each district for a term of four years, but shall be removable from office at pleasure, whose duty it shall be to attend the district and circuit courts when sitting therein, and also the Supreme Court in the district in which that court shall sit. And to execute throughout the district, all lawful precepts directed to him, and issued under the authority of the United States, and he shall have the power to command all necessary assistance in the execution of his duty, and to appoint as shall be occasion, one or more deputies.[9]
Six days after signing the act into law, President Washington appointed the first thirteen U.S. Marshals, for each of the then extant federal districts.[10][11] To each of his appointees for Marshal and District Attorney, the president addressed a form letter:
I have the pleasure to inform you that you are appointed (Marshal or Attorney) for the District of _______ and your Commission is enclosed, accompanied with such Laws as have passed relative to the Judicial Department of the United States. The high importance of the Judicial System in our National Government made it an indispensable duty to select such Characters to fill the several offices in it as would discharge their respective trust with honor to themselves and advantage to their Country.[10]
The critical Supreme Court decision affirming the legal authority of the federal marshals was made in In re Neagle, 135 U.S. 1 (1890).
For over 100 years marshals were patronage jobs, typically controlled by the district judge. They were paid primarily by fees until a salary system was set up in 1896.[12] Many of the first U.S. Marshals had already proven themselves in military service during the American Revolutionary War. Among the first marshals were John Adams's son-in-law Congressman William Stephens Smith for the District of New York, another New York district marshal, Congressman Thomas Morris, and Henry Dearborn for the District of Maine.
From the nation's earliest days, marshals were permitted to recruit special deputies as local hires, or as temporary transfers to the Marshals Service from other federal law-enforcement agencies. Marshals were also authorized to swear in a posse to assist with manhunts, and other duties, ad hoc. Marshals were given extensive authority to support the federal courts within their judicial districts, and to carry out all lawful orders issued by federal judges, Congress, or the President. Federal marshals were by far the most important government officials in territorial jurisdictions. Local law enforcement officials were often called "marshals" so there is often an ambiguity whether someone was a federal or a local official.
Federal marshals are most famous for their law enforcement work, but that was only a minor part of their workload. The largest part of the business was paper work—serving writs (e.g., subpoenas, summonses, warrants), and other processes issued by the courts, making arrests and handling all federal prisoners. They also disbursed funds as ordered by the courts. Marshals paid the fees and expenses of the court clerks, U.S. Attorneys, jurors, and witnesses. They rented the courtrooms and jail space, and hired the bailiffs, criers, and janitors. They made sure the prisoners were present, the jurors were available, and that the witnesses were on time. The marshals thus provided local representation for the federal government within their districts. They took the national census every decade through 1870. They distributed presidential proclamations, collected a variety of statistical information on commerce and manufacturing, supplied the names of government employees for the national register, and performed other routine tasks needed for the central government to function effectively.
During the settlement of the American frontier, marshals served as the main source of day-to-day law enforcement in areas that had no local government of their own.[13] U.S. Marshals were instrumental in keeping law and order in the "Old West" era. They were involved in apprehending desperadoes such as Bill Doolin, Ned Christie, and in 1893, the infamous Dalton Gang after a shoot-out that left dead Deputy Marshals Ham Hueston and Lafe Shadley, and posse member Dick Speed. Individual deputy marshals have been seen as legendary heroes in the face of rampant lawlessness (see Notable marshals below) with Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Dallas Stoudenmire, and Bass Reeves as examples of well-known marshals. Bill Tilghman, Heck Thomas, and Chris Madsen formed a legendary law enforcement trio known as "Three Guardsmen" when they worked together policing the vast, lawless Oklahoma and Indian Territories.
Until its repeal in 1864, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 tasked marshals to accept an affidavit on its face to recover a fugitive slave.
On October 26, 1881, Deputy U.S. Marshal Virgil Earp, his brothers, Special Deputy U.S. Marshals Morgan and Wyatt Earp, and Special Deputy U.S. Marshal John "Doc" H. Holliday gunned down Frank and Tom McLaury and Billy Clanton in the legendary gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. In 1894, U.S. Marshals helped suppress the Pullman Strike.
During the 19th century, the United States government appointed marshals to be attached to the courts of American consulates in China, the Ottoman Empire, and Siam. The duties of these marshals included settling shipboard disputes and mutinies aboard American vessels, the apprehension of runaway sailors and American crews engaged in the illegal slave trade, adjusting claims for damages caused by American sailors to natives, and the rescue of natives kidnapped for slavery by Americans.[14]
During the 1920s, U.S. Marshals enforced Prohibition. Marshals registered enemy aliens in wartime, sealed the American border against armed expeditions from foreign countries, and at times during the Cold War also swapped spies with the Soviet Union.
In the 1960s the marshals were on the front lines of the civil rights movement, mainly providing protection to volunteers. In September 1962, President John F. Kennedy ordered 127 marshals to accompany James Meredith, an African American who wished to register at the segregated University of Mississippi. Their presence on campus provoked riots at the university, but the marshals stood their ground, and Meredith registered. Marshals provided continuous protection to Meredith during his first year at Ole Miss, and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy later proudly displayed a deputy marshal's dented helmet in his office. U.S. Marshals also protected black school children integrating public schools in the South. Artist Norman Rockwell's famous painting The Problem We All Live With depicted a tiny Ruby Bridges being escorted by four towering United States Marshals in 1964.
Until 1965, each U.S. district court hired and administered its own marshals independently from all others. In 1965, the Executive Office for U.S. Marshals, was created as "the first organization to supervise U.S. Marshals nationwide". The United States Marshals Service, a federal agency, was created in 1969.[15][16] Since June 1975, the Marshals Service has the mission of providing law enforcement support and escort security to United States Air Force LGM-30 Minuteman and missile systems from military facilities.[17]
In 1985, the Marshals Service partnered with local Washington, D.C. law enforcement officers to create Operation Flagship, arresting fugitives by using faked free tickets to a local American football game as a lure.[18] In 1989, the Marshals Service was given jurisdiction over crimes committed relating to U.S. personnel in Antarctica.[19] During the 1992 Los Angeles riots, 200 deputy marshals of the tactical unit Special Operations Group were dispatched to assist local and state authorities in restoring peace and order throughout Los Angeles County, California.[20] In the 1990s, deputy marshals protected abortion clinics.[21][22][23]
Marshals have protected American athletes at Olympic Games,[24] the refugee boy Elián González before his return to Cuba in 2000,[25] and abortion clinics[26][27] as required by federal law. In 2003, Marshals retrieved North Carolina's copy of the Bill of Rights.[28]
In 2002, the Marshals Service was tasked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide protective security and law enforcement capabilities in the protection of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), such as warehouses, materiel and CDC personnel during deployment. Marshals also provide secure transportation of critical medical supplies and bio-terrorism response resources throughout the nation.[29] Senior Inspectors of the U.S. Marshals Service SNS Security Operations (SNSSO) Program have deployed to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and responded during the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009. SNSSO Senior Inspectors have also staffed National Security Special Events (NSSE) with their state, local and other federal partners on a regular basis.[30]
In 2006, the Sex Offenders Investigations Branch (SOIB) was formed on July 27 with the passage of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (AWA). The SOIB carries out the USMS's three principal responsibilities under the AWA: assist state, local, tribal and territorial authorities in the location and apprehension of non-compliant and fugitive sex offenders; investigate violations of the act for federal prosecution, and assist in the identification and location of sex offenders relocated as a result of a major disaster. To ensure the safety of communities and children across the country, the USMS has implemented an aggressive enforcement strategy for its responsibilities under the AWA.[31] This branch apprehends sex offenders, primarily those who prey on minors. Offenders are apprehended due to failure to register, among other things.
In February 2017, Marshals began providing protective security to United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, the first time since 2009 that a United States Cabinet-level official has been provided security by the Marshals.[32] Marshals were deployed to keep order in Washington, D.C. during the George Floyd protests on May 31, 2020,[33] as well as during the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[34]
On April 29, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina, one Marshal, two Department of Adult Corrections officers, and one local police officer on a task force were killed serving a warrant on a man for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Four Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers were wounded.[35]
The Marshals Service is responsible for apprehending wanted fugitives, providing protection for the federal judiciary, transporting federal prisoners, protecting endangered federal witnesses, and managing assets seized from criminal enterprises.[36] The Marshals Service is responsible for 55.2% of arrests of federal fugitives. Between 1981 and 1985, the Marshals Service conducted Fugitive Investigative Strike Team operations to jump-start fugitive capture in specific districts. In 2012, U.S. marshals captured over 36,000 federal fugitives and cleared over 39,000 fugitive warrants.[37]
The Marshals Service also executes all lawful writs, processes, and orders issued under the authority of the United States, and can command all necessary assistance to execute its duties.
Historically, under Section 27 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 U.S. Marshals had the common law-based power to enlist any willing civilians as deputies for necessary assistance in the execution of their duties.[38] In the Old West this was known as forming a posse, although under the Posse Comitatus Act, they could not use military troops in uniform representing their unit or the military service for law enforcement duties. However, if a service member was off duty, wearing civilian clothing, and willing to assist a law enforcement officer on their own behalf, it was acceptable.[citation needed] In contemporary times, the deputation of a civilian would be extraordinarily unusual. However, the Director of the United States Marshals Service currently has the statutory authority to deputize (for one year) selected officers of the United States Department of Justice; federal, state, or local law enforcement officers; employees of private security companies to provide courtroom security for the Federal judiciary; or other persons as designated by the United States Associate Attorney General.[39]
Title 28 USC Chapter 37 § 564 authorizes United States Marshals, deputy marshals and such other officials of the Service as may be designated by the Director, in executing the laws of the United States within a State, to exercise the same powers which a sheriff of the State may exercise in executing the laws thereof.[40]
Except for suits by incarcerated persons, non-prisoner litigants proceeding in forma pauperis, or (in some circumstances) by seamen, U.S. Marshals no longer serve leading process or subpoenas in private civil actions filed in the U.S. district courts. Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, process may be served by any U.S. citizen over the age of 18 who is not a party involved in the case. The Marshals still levy executions and serve writs of garnishment.
A chief responsibility of the Marshals is the United States Federal Witness Protection Program.
The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 amends the federal judicial code to authorize the United States Marshals Service to assist state, local, tribal, and other federal law enforcement agencies, upon request, in locating and recovering missing children. The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act also established The Missing Child Unit of The Marshals Service.[41]
The Marshals Service publicizes the names of wanted persons it places on the list of U.S. Marshals 15 Most Wanted Fugitives,[42] which is similar to and sometimes overlaps the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Most Wanted List, depending on jurisdiction.[43]
The 15 Most Wanted Fugitive Program was established in 1983 in an effort to prioritize the investigation and apprehension of high-profile offenders who are considered to be some of the country's most dangerous fugitives. These offenders tend to be career criminals with histories of violence or whose instant offense(s) pose a significant threat to public safety. Current and past fugitives in this program include murderers, sex offenders, major drug kingpins, organized crime figures, and individuals wanted for high-profile financial crimes.
The Major Case Fugitive Program was established in 1985 in an effort to supplement the successful 15 Most Wanted Fugitive Program. Much like the 15 Most Wanted Fugitive Program, the Major Case Fugitive Program prioritizes the investigation and apprehension of high-profile offenders who are considered to be some of the country's most dangerous individuals. All escapes from custody are automatically elevated to Major Case status.[44]
The Wall Street Journal reported on November 14, 2014, that the Marshals Service's Technical Operations Group utilizes a so-called dirtbox to track fugitives.[45]
The Special Operations Group (SOG) was created in 1971,[46] and is the Marshals Service's tactical unit. It is a self-supporting response team capable of responding to emergencies anywhere in the U.S. or its territories.