Replies

"Law enforcement should be carried out locally," Paul added, noting that federal agents were not armed and had no arrest powers until the early 1900s when prohibition and the federal income tax were imposed.

—Demidog

"Because the marshals and their deputies were the only civilian police power available to the National Government during its first century, they became the veritable `handyman' of Federal law enforcement. In addition to their significant duties to the Federal courts, the early marshals took the national census, arrested counterfeiters and moonshiners, and sealed the borders to prevent armed excursions abroad. They also played central roles in every major test of the young Government's power and the primacy of the Constitution as the supreme law of the land: from the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, to the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War, and the lawlessness of the `Wild West.'"

Congressional Record, May 31, 1989, Page: E1934

—Roscoe

I think you are both right. The problem is the term "Federal Agent." The current usage of this term refers to any agent of the FBI, IRS, Customs, Fish & Wildlife, Forest Service, Secret Service, etc., all agencies of the Executive Branch. This is no doubt the way Paul is using the term, and he is correct. None of the Executive Branch agencies were armed until the early 1900's. The US Marshals Service was, indeed, armed since their formation in 1789; however, they were not an agency, but a part of the Judical Branch until the 1930's.

At first, the Federal Bureau of Investigations was just that: Investigators. If their investigations found evidence of a crime, they took their evidence to the US Attorney who presented it to a magistrate who, if convinced, issued a warrant which was enforced by the US Marshals Service. The FBI and other Executive Branch agencies had no arrest powers and were not armed.

Roscoe - The situation is confused by the Marshals Service doing the census —an Executive Branch function — while they were part of the Judiciary. This was simple pragmatism. There were no Executive Branch people anywhere in the country except Washington, DC, and the customs agents at the ports of entry. In order to do a nation-wide function, such as the census, it was necessary to use a nation-wide presence, which - then as now - was the Judiciary.

The overlap of functions continues to this day. The US Marshal for a Judicial District, not the Clerk of the Court, still pays Juror fees, etc., which come out of the Judiciary apropriations. This is pure tradition, harking back to a time when the Marshal was the only one in the Courthouse with a safe to secure the money, even though, now, all payments are made by check. [Information current as of December, 1992, when I left the Department of Justice rather than serve under Clinton. Of course, I didn't know that Janet Reno would be AG, but I was certain that someone of her qualifications would be.]