By Kristy McCaffrey
The word “marshal” comes from the Old High German word marah,
which means horse, and calc, which means servant, so marshal means “horsekeeper.”
In European society, marshals rose from managing the army cavalries to maintaining
the law and order of the court systems.
In 1789, President George Washington signed the Judiciary
Act into law, and one aspect was providing the jurisdiction and powers of U.S.
Marshals and their Deputy Marshals: they would help to define, administer, and enforce the
growing body of federal laws, and by their actions would determine the boundary
between federal authority and local autonomy.
Each state or territory was assigned a Marshal, and the
marshalcy was restricted to four years due in part to their authority in choosing
juries. It was thought this power could make the marshal “dangerous.”
Marshals were paid by a fee system rather than a salary.
They were only compensated if their services were needed, otherwise the government
spent nothing. Not surprisingly, this fee system proved a low income for most marshals,
making it hard to recruit energetic young men to the office.
An example of the fee system established by Congress in 1853:
$2 for service of a warrant; $.50 for service of a subpoena; $.06 per mile for
travel; $.50 for each bail bond; $5 per day for serving court in session; $5
for drawing and executing a deed; $.10 per mile for escorting a prisoner to
jail; actual expenses when endeavoring to arrest a criminal, not to exceed $2
per day; and two percent of money disbursed to jurors and witnesses.
In 1806, the fee system was extended to the territories of
the United States but due to the high cost of living, lawmakers granted those
marshals an annual salary of $200 plus fees not to exceed $4000 per year.
A marshal relied heavily on his deputies, who were employees
of the marshal and not officers of the court. Deputy marshals were empowered to
perform most of the duties of the marshal—they could serve the process of the
court, deputize temporary deputies, and summon the posse comitatus (“power
of the county” – it enabled the marshals to press into service a posse from
among the local males).
If a marshal died, then the deputy would fill the post temporarily.
The ranks of the deputies were divided into two categories. The office deputy
worked in the headquarters and performed bookkeeping tasks, and the field deputy
resided in remote corners of the judicial district and served the marshal
during sessions of court.
The office of Marshal was often afflicted with political
factionalism. For example, in Arizona locals applauded the marshal for deporting
Chinese immigrants but then berated them for enforcing polygamy laws against
the Mormons. The Mormons, in turn, regarded the marshals as part of an oppressive
federal government. And because Arizonans wanted more immigrants and economic
development, the governor permitted a subdued response to the antipolygamy law
since the Mormons contributed significantly to the fledgling economy.
The general lawlessness of the Arizona Territory was the
source of the popular “frontier marshal” image, a lawman chasing down dangerous
desperadoes, but it didn’t exist anywhere else.
* * *
Don’t miss my new western coming July 2024.
Pre-order THE NIGHTHAWK now.
Sophie Ryan’s dream of working for a newspaper has come true. Accompanied by her cousin, Lucas Blackmore, a newly appointed U.S. Deputy Marshal, she arrives in Jerome, one of the richest mining towns in America. And one of the most remote. Although she’s been hired to report for the Jerome Mining News on education and cultural issues, she soon finds herself immersed in something more serious when she finds an enigmatic injured man in the Black Hills claiming to be an ornithologist.
U.S. Deputy Marshal Benton McKay is undercover tracking the notorious train robbing Weaver gang, and the trail ends in Jerome. When he’s injured in the Black Hills and found by a determined and beautiful young woman, he must gain her trust to keep his identity a secret. But keeping her out of trouble proves a challenge, especially with her cousin assigned to assist him. As they track down the band of outlaws, another agenda emerges—the renegades are searching for lost gold believed to have been left behind by the Spanish Conquistadors. And Sophie Ryan is determined to report on it.
Come along with Sophie and McKay as they find adventure, mystery, and love.
Sophie is the daughter of Logan and Claire from THE DOVE.
Coming July 17, 2024
Pre-order at
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