While the Department of Justice has expanded greatly over the decades, it might be interesting to look at the evolution of one of its oldest- if not the oldest- service: ôThe oldest federal law enforcement agency in the United States is truly the Marshals Service. The agency was formed by the Judiciary Act of Sept. 24, 1789. The act specifically determined that law enforcement was to be the U.S. Marshals' primary function. Therefore it appropriately defined marshals as law enforcement officersö (US Marshals Home page). It is interesting to note that the U.S. Marshals were not appointed fore life, but normally served four year terms which could be renewed. ôUntil the mid-20th century, the Marshals hired their own Deputies, often firing the Deputies who had worked for the previous Marshal. Thus, the limitation on the Marshal's term of office frequently extended to the Deputies as wellö (US Marshals Home page). We may think of US Marshals in the many western movies and novels- from Wyatt Earp and Will Bill Hickock (real) to Matt Dillon and æRoosterÆ Cockburn (fictional) but in effect the marshals have performed numerous important services: ôOver the past 200 years, Congress and the president also called on the Marshals to carry out unusual or extraordinary missions, such as registering enemy aliens in time of war, capturing fugitive slaves, sealing the American border against armed expeditions aimed at foreign countries, and swapping spies with the Soviet Unionö (US Marshals Home page). We have heard, also, about lists of the Most Wanted fugitives and the Witness Protection Plan, both of which are part of the US Marshals Service duties. ôThe Marshals Service is responsible for providing protection for the federal judiciary, transporting federal prisoners, protecting endangered federal witnesses and managing assets seized from criminal enterprises. The men and women of the Marshals Service are resp
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