The Thirties and Forties: Roots of Disparate Duties

The Emergence of Oversight

Societal changes during the 1930s proved dangerous for deputy marshals. As an example, Deputy U.S. Marshal William Raoul Dorsay, a four-year veteran of the Northern District of California, sought information about a fugitive who had stolen an automobile on November 25, 1937. Accompanied by two policemen, he came to the home of 73-year-old William Pierce in Oakland, California. The man was not a suspect but a former landlord of the fugitive. He was also partially blind and deaf. The lawmen pounded heavily on the front door. Pierce pulled out a double-barrel shotgun because he believed that Deputy Dorsay and the two officers were robbers. As the lawmen prepared to force an entry, Pierce fired the shotgun. The blast struck Dorsey in the neck, cutting his jugular vein. He fell to the walk, bleeding to death. The two others apprehended Pierce, who was tried and later sent to a mental hospital. Deputy Dorsay, the native Kentuckian who wrote poetry in his spare time, was given a hero's funeral with full military honors at age 41.

The organizational structure of the U.S. marshals had remained unchanged since 1789. Each U.S. Marshal controlled his own district, including his preference for badge design. The President of the United States appointed each U.S. Marshal, so each possessed equal authority to lead the district. Congressional representatives viewed the patronage positions as political plums in their home districts, so the vestiges of unilateral, autonomous management perpetuated for generations. Perhaps politics prompted the changes to the structure of the U.S. Marshals starting the 1930s. By then, news coverage of deputies paled in comparison to coverage of the burgeoning Federal Bureau of Investigation. J. Edgar Hoover's keen grasp of the public eye boosted the profile of his agents and their fugitives, while U.S. Marshals received little of the spotlight. Additionally, from its inception the FBI had a centralized internal structure that the U.S. Marshals lacked in the 1930s. After recognizing the need for centralization and observing the efficiencies gained by other agencies with a core command structure, the U.S. Marshals eventually followed suit and established a central office, which would eventually become its headquarters in 1956.

Until the establishment of headquarters, only occasional conferences brought together the appointed U.S. marshals or career deputy U.S. marshals from different districts and representatives from the Department of Justice. Continuously since 1861, each U.S. marshal turned to the Office of the Attorney General for both guidance and accountability. The Attorney General represented a distant boss to most deputies in the field, and was rarely involved in any district issue. In 1935, New Jersey native Salvatore A. Andretta joined the Justice Department. He was the first person charged with centralization of the U.S. marshals, and to improve their financial accountability. Justice officials tasked Andretta with managing and reconciling all expense accounts for the myriad U.S. marshals offices. The uneven flow of money between Justice and the district offices became a regular concern to the Department of Justice. With the Great Depression impacting the nation, federal budgets and expenses desperately needed oversight. The use of automobiles, investigative expenses, and rising living costs made fiscal discipline a critical issue. With only a secretary to assist him, Andretta became the central point person to authorize travel expenses for the large number of district offices. Furthermore, in 1939, Attorney General Frank Murphy announced his intention to call a conference to discuss "improvements." It was actually a way for Murphy to "raise the bar" and remind all personnel of their specific duties.

Still, the general notion of federal marshals being merely an extension of the courtroom stemmed from a decision in 1937 to replace bailiffs in the federal court with deputy U.S. marshals. Traditionally, bailiffs had been hired by the U.S. Marshals as a guard-type position. In fact, the old bailiff system was being phased out, but legislation from the 1930s and early 1940s inadvertently reinforced a stereotype that deputy U.S. marshals served as bailiffs. Largely based on the Appropriations Act of 1937, the hard-scrabble image of the Old West deputy marshal riding on his horse in the search for his quarry suffered as a result. The fact that federal bailiffs served long careers in a single court provoked the stereotype of aged deputy marshals well into the 1950s.

While the image of the U.S. Marshals continued to develop with society's changes, the common strands of their core duties provided continuity. Patterned after the court system, U.S. Marshals' authority was spread over the many districts throughout the country. This began changing after World War II, with a trend towards greater workforce professionalization and more oversight of district activity. Eventually, these early efforts at centralized organization led to "headquarters."

One primary function of the deputy marshals that stood the test of time was "hooking and hauling." It is a term of workplace lexicon, which means shackling and transporting prisoners to and from court. Deputies have brought federal defendants and prisoners from cells to the court as a principal duty. For example, in 1931, U.S. Marshal Henry C.W. Laubenheimer brought Al Capone to court, under arrest for tax evasion. Photographers snapped numerous images as Capone — accompanied by the deputy marshal — entered the courthouse. In fact, the "perp walk" became a publicity, and sometimes political, duty for federal marshals when bringing a high-profile defendant to face justice. It was their way to let the world know "the feds got their man." The practice has since fallen out of favor.

Overseas

Since the 1860s, deputies served in Constantinople (later Istanbul), Seoul, and other key courts around the world. By treaty, these courts handled the legal and criminal matters of American citizens in specific countries. By 1900, because of the competing national interests among a number of western countries, the U.S. likewise kept a strategic economic presence in China. Starting in June 1906, the U.S. Marshals maintained a constant presence in China through the Consular Court system. By Executive Order 6166, dated June 10, 1933, administrative supervision of the U.S. Court for China moved from the State to the Justice Department. The following year saw the arrival of U.S. Marshal Edward L. Faupel in Shanghai. Only 36 years old, Faupel learned much of war simply by being in the post. The Sino-Japanese War almost led to the evacuation of personnel. By September 1937, U.S. Marshal Edward Faupel toyed with the idea of fleeing as he watched bombs drop on nearby Chinese military encampments. He wrote Salvatore Andretta, who maintained fiscal oversight of the U.S. marshals at Justice:

At present there are only three of us remaining to carry on the work of the Court, Judge Helmick, Deputy Marshal Peterson and myself, with occasional gratis help from outside in matters concerning the District Attorney and Clerks offices. I find my position, both officially and otherwise, most interesting, and I might say entertaining, preferring not to leave this area...