Kathy E <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Congress is considering a plan to reorganize the nation's oldest law enforcement agency, the U.S. Marshals Service. The bill would end the 200-year-old practice of naming marshals by presidential appointment. In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, law enforcement officials inside and outside the agency said appointees have included a number of retirement-aged or inexperienced people, which damages morale and makes other law enforcement agencies reluctant to work with the service. George Washington appointed the first 13 U.S. marshals. Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickok served as deputy marshals. Most recently, the service is celebrated in the blockbuster ``U.S. Marshals,'' starring Tommy Lee Jones. But the reality, witnesses said, is that while deputies today are trained professionals, their appointed supervisors, the 94 U.S. marshals, sometimes are not. Henry Hudson, former director of the service, said marshals should be career employees, promoted up through the ranks, as they would be under the Senate bill. During his tenure, from 1992 to 1993, he said he encountered appointees who ignored his directives, who couldn't handle a firearm, who appealed to their congressional sponsors when conflicts arose, who botched field operations through inexperience, and who alienated other law enforcement agencies. He said, ``The end result was the total exclusion of the U.S. Marshals Service from joint coordinated law enforcement projects.'' Deputy Marshal Victor Oboyski said U.S. marshals are not required to meet age, fitness or experience requirements. Marshals have been appointed with backgrounds as florists, pig farmers, coroners, and children's television hosts. Nearly a third of U.S. marshals are retired law enforcement officers. Their only introduction to their new job is a 40-hour orientation session. The Marshals Service protects judges and witnesses, guards prisoners, seizes assets and tracks fugitives. -- Kathy E "I can only please one person a day, today is NOT your day, and tomorrow isn't looking too good for you either" http://members.delphi.com/kathylaw/ Law & Issues Mailing List http://pw1.netcom.com/~kathye/rodeo.html - Cowboy Histories http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/2990/law.htm Crime photo's Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
