Director of the United States Marshals Service

Director of the United States Marshals Service
Seal of the Marshals Service
Flag of the Marshals Service
Incumbent Ronald L. Davis since September 27, 2021
United States Marshals Service
Style	Director
Status	Chief executive
Reports to	United States Attorney General
Seat	Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	28 U.S.C. § 561
Formation	December 20, 1957
First holder	Clive W. Palmer
Deputy	Deputy Director
Salary	Executive Schedule, level IV[1]
Website	www.usmarshals.gov

The director of the United States Marshals Service, abbreviated USMS director, is the head and chief executive of the United States Marshals Service (USMS).^[2] The director oversees and manages the Marshals Service and directly superintends the various United States Marshals, which are responsible for all USMS operations within a federal judicial district.^[3][4][5] The director was originally referred to as "Chief United States Marshal" from 1957 to 1970.

The director of the Marshals Service is appointed by the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. The director reports to the United States Attorney General.^[6]

Powers and duties[]

28 U.S.C. § 561 establishes the United States Marshals Service, abbreviated USMS, as a "bureau" of the U.S. Department of Justice and puts a director at its head. The director – like any other high-ranking executive branch officer – is directly appointed by the president, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and serves under the authority and control of the United States Attorney General.

The director is responsible for the supervision and direction of the Marshals Service "in the performance of its duties". Since all the United States Marshals are officers of the USMS, they are subordinate to its director. Additionally, the director may exercise any functions delegated to them by the Attorney General.

28 U.S.C. § 561 mandates the director to consult with the Judicial Conference of the United States on a continuing basis to discuss the security requirements of the federal judiciary. This provision exists to ensure that views of the judiciary are taken into account when it comes to staff assignments, policy priorities, resource allocation, and "judicial security" in general, which includes the defense of federal courthouses and other buildings accommodating the judiciary, as well as the personal safety of, and the assessment of threats made to, judicial officers, and the protection of all other judicial personnel.

Furthermore, chapter 37 of the U.S. Code empowers the director to designate the stations and offices of the U.S. Marshals, appoint complementary personnel and fix their compensation, and administer oaths and take affirmations of officers and employees of the Marshals Service.

List of officeholders[]

Nr.	Portrait	Name[7]	Entered office	Left office[a]
Chief United States Marshals (1957–1970)
1		Clive W. Palmer[b]	December 20, 1957	June 21, 1962
2		James J. P. McShane[c]	June 21, 1962	March 5, 1969
3		Carl Turner[d]	March 5, 1969	January 16, 1970
Directors of the Marshals Service (1970–present)
1		Wayne B. Colburn	January 16, 1970	May 23, 1976
2		William E. Hall	May 23, 1976	October 23, 1983
3		Stanley E. Morris	October 23, 1983	November 6, 1989
4		Kevin Michael Moore	November 6, 1989	February 24, 1992
5		Henry E. Hudson	February 24, 1992	August 12, 1992
			August 12, 1992	October 17, 1993
–		John J. Twomey	October 17, 1993	November 18, 1993
6		Eduardo Gonzalez	November 18, 1993	June 21, 1999
–		George Ray Havens	June 21, 1999	November 17, 1999
7		John W. Marshall	November 17, 1999	January 21, 2001
–		Louie McKinney	January 21, 2001	October 30, 2001
8		Benigno G. Reyna	October 30, 2001	August 1, 2005
9		John F. Clark	August 1, 2005	March 17, 2006
			March 17, 2006	December 31, 2010
10		Stacia A. Hylton	December 31, 2010	July 26, 2015
–		David Harlow	July 26, 2015	January 4, 2018
–		David Anderson[e]	January 4, 2018	March 29, 2019
11		Donald W. Washington	March 29, 2019	September 27, 2021
12		Ronald L. Davis	September 27, 2021	Present

Deputies[]

The deputy director of the Marshals Service is the principal deputy to the director. The deputy director oversees the chief of district affairs and the Office of Professional Responsibility.^[8]

The associate director for operations is the chief operating officer of the Marshals Service. The associate director oversees the Investigative Operations Division, Judicial Security Division, Tactical Operations Division, Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System, Witness Security Division, and the Prisoner Operations Division.^[9]

The associate director for administration oversees the Training Division, Human Resources Division, Information Technology Division, Office of Public and Congressional Affairs, Management Support Division, Asset Forfeiture Division.

See also[]

• Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation
• Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
• Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Director of the United States Secret Service
• Federal law enforcement in the United States

References[]

Notes[]

External links[]

• U.S. Marshals Service leadership