The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the U. Department of Justice and operates under the direction of the U. Attorney General. Marshals are the original U. District Courts. 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 Minuteman missile convoys, law enforcement for the United States Antarctic Program , and protection of the Strategic National Stockpile. 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. Six days after signing the act into law, President Washington appointed the first thirteen U.
