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GAO-03-499R 1 (2003-04-02)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaamed0001 and id is 1 raw text is: I Accountability * Integrity * Reliability United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548 April 2, 2003 The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy United States Senate The Honorable John F. Kerry United States Senate Subject: Appointment and Qualifications of U.S. Marshals This report responds to your June 6, 2002, request, with then Senators Strom Thurmond and Fred Thompson, for information on the appointment and qualifications of U.S. Marshals in the 94 federal judicial districts. As agreed with your offices, we obtained information on the (1) U.S. Marshals' appointment process and, for comparison, the processes used by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); and Internal Revenue Service- Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) to select senior field supervisors; (2) experience, education and diversity of U.S. Marshals and senior field supervisors at the ATF, DEA, and IRS-Cl; (3) authority of the Director of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) to guide and control activities of U.S. Marshals; and (4) past legislative and other proposals for reforming the U.S. Marshals' appointment process. On November 21, 2002, we briefed your offices on the results of our review. This report summarizes material from that briefing and provides additional information related to the areas reviewed. Background The U.S. Marshal Service was created by the first Congress in the Judiciary Act of 1789. U.S. Marshals were placed in each federal judicial district and were given broad authority to support the federal courts and to carry out all lawful orders issued by judges, Congress, and the President. Early duties of U.S. Marshals included taking the census, distributing presidential proclamations, protecting the borders, and making arrests. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, some responsibilities of U.S. Marshals were transferred to newly created federal agencies, including the U.S. Census Bureau, Immigration and Naturalization Service, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Today, the primary responsibilities of U.S. Marshals include protecting federal judges and witnesses, transporting federal prisoners, apprehending federal fugitives, and managing assets seized from criminal enterprises. GAO-03-499R Appointment and Qualifications of U.S. Marshals