What is the difference between a US Marshall and a Sheriff?
The U.S. Marshals Service is the nation’s oldest and most versatile federal law enforcement agency. Federal Marshals have served the country since 1789, oftentimes in unseen but critical ways. To this day, the Marshals occupy a uniquely central position in the federal justice system. It is the enforcement arm of the federal courts, and as such, it is involved in virtually every federal law enforcement initiative. Presidentially appointed U.S. Marshals direct the activities of 94 districts — one for each federal judicial district. More than 3,320 Deputy U.S. Marshals and Criminal Investigators form the backbone of the agency. Among their many duties, they apprehend more than half of all federal fugitives, protect the federal judiciary, operate the Witness Security Program, transport federal prisoners and seize property acquired by criminals through illegal activities. The agency’s headquarters is just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Protecting federal judicial officials —
