People Power United supports the Marshalls Act

🗽A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.

People Power United joins efforts to support the Marshalls Act. Shout out to Court Accountability for leading this effort.

📄 Read the letter sent on behalf of our People Power United members:

June 3, 2025

Dear Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Durbin, Chairman Jordan, and Ranking Member Raskin:

We write to urge your committees to move quickly to consider S. 1873 and H.R. 3607, the MARSHALS Act, legislation that would return the U.S. Marshals to the federal judiciary from the executive branch. The sharp rise in threats to federal judges and their families and the emerging confrontation between the executive and judicial branches regarding enforcement of court orders make it necessary to give the judiciary authority over the U.S. Marshals, the law enforcement agency tasked with protecting the courts.

The House and Senate Judiciary committees have long been proactive in addressing judicial security concerns. Following the tragic attack on Judge Esther Salas and her family, for example, the committees took the lead on the bipartisan Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act, which protected judges’ sensitive personal information from being exploited online. Chairman Grassley recognized at the time that “[i]t’s important that we have the tools necessary to protect judges and their families,” and Chairman Jordan recently urged the House Appropriations Committee to “appropriately fund judicial security measures.” We agree.

Over the past several months, the Trump administration has repeatedly defied federal court orders while expressing hostility toward judges who have ruled against it. As a consequence, security risks to federal judges have only intensified. A recent report highlighted a staggering 327% increase in threats against U.S. judges on social media platforms over the past year. These attacks have extended beyond the digital realm, with incidents such as bomb threats and swatting targeting judges and their families. D.C. Circuit Judge Michelle Childs recently recounted receiving anonymously sent pizza boxes at her home, in what appears to be an effort to intimidate her after she ruled in cases against the administration. As Judge Childs said in an interview with the Washington Post, “You need a strong judiciary for the system to work. This is infringing on democracy generally.” At a time of heightened personal risk to judges, the MARSHALS Act would afford the judiciary control over its security protections.

The MARSHALS Act would also reinforce judicial independence by giving federal courts the power to enforce their orders. As Chairman Grassley noted recently, “We’ve got a system of checks and balances.” That system relies on the executive branch following court orders, a foundation of our constitutional order.

The Trump administration’s repeated refusal to comply with binding judicial orders has put unprecedented strain on this system of delicately balanced powers. Last month, for example, a federal district court judge ruled that the Trump administration had “unquestionably” violated his order when it put a group of migrants on a plane to war-torn South Sudan without giving them a proper chance to challenge their removals. And the Solicitor General recently refused to affirm to the Supreme Court that the administration would follow court rulings. Given the increasing likelihood that the Marshals Service will face a conflict between executing court orders and the directives of Justice Department leadership, returning the U.S. Marshals to the judiciary would help buttress the system of checks and balances and forestall a deepening constitutional crisis.

Thank you for your leadership and continued commitment to judicial security and integrity.

Sincerely,

Court Accountability Action

Accountable.US/Accountable.NOW

Alliance for Justice

American Governance Institute

American Oversight

Blue Future

Center for Gender & Refugee Studies

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

Courage California

Demand Justice

Enough of Gun Violence: Non-Violence is Life

Fix the Court

Global Project Against Hate and Extremism

Indivisible Santa Fe

Issue One

MomsRising

MoveOn Civic Action

National Association of Social Workers

National Women’s Law Center Action Fund

NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice

Newtown Action Alliance

People For the American Way

People Power United

Project On Government Oversight

Protect Democracy

Public Citizen

Secure Elections Network

The Sikh Coalition

Stand Up America

Systemic Justice Project, Harvard Law School

Term Limit the Court

The Workers Circle

Transformative Justice Coalition

UltraViolet Action

Voices for Progress

Voto Latino

Barbara Bucholtz, University of Tulsa*

Jonathan Chausovsky, Associate Professor, State University of New York at Fredonia*

Paul M. Collins, Jr., University of Massachusetts Amherst*

Janet Cooper Alexander, Frederick I. Richman Professor of Law, Emerita, Stanford University*

Marie Failinger, Mitchell Hamline School of Law*

Susan Beth Farmer, Professor Emerita, Penn State Dickinson Law School*

Mark A. Graber, University of Maryland Carey School of Law*

Berta Hernandez, Professor, University of Florida Levin College of Law*

B. Jessie Hill, Case Western Reserve University School of Law*

Mae Kuykendall, Professor of Law Emeritum, Michigan State University College of Law*

Francesca Laguardia, Montclair State University*

Renee M. Landers, Suffolk University Law School*

Stephen R. Lazarus, Cleveland State University College of Law (ret.)*

Lorelie S. Masters, Women Lawyers On Guard Action Network*

M. Isabel Medina, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law*

James Ming Chen, Professor of Law and Justin Smith Morrill Chair in Law, Michigan State University*

Brian Owsley, UNT Dallas College of Law*

Jeremy Paul, Professor of Law, Northeastern University*

Edward A. Purcell, Jr., Joseph Solomon Distinguished Professor Emeritus, New York Law School*

Lynne H. Rambo, Professor of Law Emerita, Texas A&M University School of Law*

Joshua D. Sarnoff, DePaul University College of Law*

Howard Schweber, University of Wisconsin*

Stephen Siegel, DePaul University (Emeritus)*

Susan Silbey, Massachusetts Institute of Technology*

Joshua M. Silverstein, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, William H. Bowen School of Law*

Anne-Marie Slaughter, Professor Emerita, Princeton University*

*Affiliation listed for identification purposes only.

***

People Power United is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.