# The MARSHALS Act: Moving Federal Marshals Under Court Control

This bill makes a significant change to how the U.S. Marshals Service is organized and who controls it. Right now, the Marshals Service is part of the Department of Justice, which means the Attorney General (a member of the executive branch) oversees it. This bill would move the entire Marshals Service to the judicial branch—meaning it would answer to the courts instead of the Justice Department.

Here's what that means in practical terms: Instead of the Attorney General appointing and firing the Director of the Marshals Service, the Chief Justice of the United States would make those decisions. The Chief Justice would also appoint all the individual U.S. Marshals for each district, with input from a new oversight board made up of the Chief Justice, the Judicial Conference (which represents all federal judges), and the Director. This board would set goals and objectives for how the Marshals Service operates. The marshals would serve four-year terms and could only be removed by the Chief Justice in consultation with this board.

The bill also changes what tasks the Marshals Service can do. Its primary focus would shift to protecting federal judges, court officers, witnesses, and others involved in the judicial process who face threats or intimidation. The Marshals could still help the Justice Department with certain tasks—like hunting fugitives, investigating unregistered sex offenders, and finding missing children—but only when the Attorney General requests it and the Marshals Director approves. This is different from now, when the Attorney General can direct the Marshals to do these things without needing the Marshals' approval.

Essentially, this bill is about independence: it aims to make the Marshals Service independent from political control by the executive branch and instead place it under the judicial branch, where supporters argue it can better protect the courts and the people who work in them.