§ 1921. — United States marshal's fees.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 28USC1921]
TITLE 28--JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE
PART V--PROCEDURE
CHAPTER 123--FEES AND COSTS
Sec. 1921. United States marshal's fees
(a)(1) The United States marshals or deputy marshals shall routinely
collect, and a court may tax as costs, fees for the following:
(A) Serving a writ of possession, partition, execution,
attachment in rem, or libel in admiralty, warrant, attachment,
summons, complaints, or any other writ, order or process in any case
or proceeding.
(B) Serving a subpoena or summons for a witness or appraiser.
(C) Forwarding any writ, order, or process to another judicial
district for service.
(D) The preparation of any notice of sale, proclamation in
admiralty, or other public notice or bill of sale.
(E) The keeping of attached property (including boats, vessels,
or other property attached or libeled), actual expenses incurred,
such as storage, moving, boat hire, or other special transportation,
watchmen's or keepers' fees, insurance, and an hourly rate,
including overtime, for each deputy marshal required for special
services, such as guarding, inventorying, and moving.
(F) Copies of writs or other papers furnished at the request of
any party.
(G) Necessary travel in serving or endeavoring to serve any
process, writ, or order, except in the District of Columbia, with
mileage to be computed from the place where service is returnable to
the place of service or endeavor.
(H) Overtime expenses incurred by deputy marshals in the course
of serving or executing civil process.
(2) The marshals shall collect, in advance, a deposit to cover the
initial expenses for special services required under paragraph (1)(E),
and periodically thereafter such amounts as may be necessary to pay such
expenses until the litigation is concluded. This paragraph applies to
all private litigants, including seamen proceeding pursuant to section
1916 of this title.
(3) For purposes of paragraph (1)(G), if two or more services or
endeavors, or if an endeavor and a service, are made in behalf of the
same party in the same case on the same trip, mileage shall be computed
to the place of service or endeavor which is most remote from the place
where service is returnable, adding thereto any additional mileage
traveled in serving or endeavoring to serve in behalf of the party. If
two or more writs of any kind, required to be served in behalf of the
same party on the same person in the same case or proceeding, may be
served at the same time, mileage on only one such writ shall be
collected.
(b) The Attorney General shall from time to time prescribe by
regulation the fees to be taxed and collected under subsection (a). Such
fees shall, to the extent practicable, reflect the actual and reasonable
cost of the service provided.
(c)(1) The United States Marshals Service shall collect a commission
of 3 percent of the first $1,000 collected and 1\1/2\ percent on the
excess of any sum over $1,000, for seizing or levying on property
(including seizures in admiralty), disposing of such property by sale,
setoff, or otherwise, and receiving and paying over money, except that
the amount of commission shall be within the range set by the Attorney
General. if \1\ the property is not disposed of by marshal's sale, the
commission shall be in such amount, within the range set by the Attorney
General, as may be allowed by the court. In any case in which the vessel
or other property is sold by a public auctioneer, or by some party other
than a marshal or deputy marshal, the commission authorized under this
subsection shall be reduced by the amount paid to such auctioneer or
other party. This subsection applies to any judicially ordered sale or
execution sale, without regard to whether the judicial order of sale
constitutes a seizure or levy within the meaning of State law. This
subsection shall not apply to any seizure, forfeiture, sale, or other
disposition of property pursuant to the applicable provisions of law
amended by the Comprehensive Forfeiture Act of 1984 (98 Stat. 2040).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ So in original. Probably should be capitalized.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) The Attorney General shall prescribe from time to time
regulations which establish a minimum and maximum amount for the
commission collected under paragraph (1).
(d) The United States marshals may require a deposit to cover the
fees and expenses prescribed under this section.
(e) Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31, the United States
Marshals Service is authorized, to the extent provided in advance in
appropriations Acts--
(1) to credit to such Service's appropriation all fees,
commissions, and expenses collected by such Service for--
(A) the service of civil process, including complaints,
summonses, subpoenas, and similar process; and
(B) seizures, levies, and sales associated with judicial
orders of execution; and
(2) to use such credited amounts for the purpose of carrying out
such activities.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 955; Sept. 9, 1950, ch. 937, 64 Stat.
824; Pub. L. 87-621, Sec. 1, Aug. 31, 1962, 76 Stat. 417; Pub. L. 99-
646, Sec. 39(a), Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3600; Pub. L. 100-690, title
VII, Sec. 7608(c), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4515; Pub. L. 101-647, title
XII, Sec. 1212, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4833.)
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Sec. 574 (R.S. Secs. 823, 829;
May 28, 1896, ch. 252, Sec. 6, 29 Stat. 179; May 29, 1930, ch. 356, 46
Stat. 486; Aug. 3, 1935, ch. 431, Sec. 2, 49 Stat. 513).
Provisions for serving venires and summoning grand and petit jurors
were omitted as useless since marshal's fees are now covered into the
Treasury and there is no basis for apportioning the cost of summoning
jurors for a term of court and taxing the same to individual cases.
The marshal's fee ``for holding a court of inquiry or other
proceedings before a jury, including summoning a jury, $5'' is omitted
as obsolete in the Federal practice. See, Black's Law Dictionary ``Court
of Inquiry.'' See, also, Webster's International Dictionary.
A fee of 50 cents ``for each bail bond'' is omitted as covered by
the general provision for taxation of marshal's fees in criminal cases.
The provisions for a fee of $5 for drawing and executing a deed and
$1 for executing a deed prepared by a party or his attorney are omitted
as unnecessary. It is the marshal's duty to execute conveyances of
property which he sells on execution and his salary compensates him
therefor. There is no occasion for him to draw such a deed and no
beneficial purpose in taxing the parties a fee for his signature.
The 2 per centum fee for disbursing moneys is omitted as an
unnecessary burden upon funds belonging to litigants.
The provision that a folio consists of ``100 words or major fraction
thereof'' is inserted to conform with section 607 of title 28, U.S.C.,
1940 ed., which is transferred to title 44, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Public
Printing and Documents, along with section 606 of said title 28, to
which said section 607 also relates.
The provision for a lump sum to be determined by the court and taxed
in criminal cases was added. It fixes a maximum of $25 in misdemeanor
cases and $100 in felony cases. It may be questioned whether costs as
such should ever be taxed against the convicted defendant in a criminal
case. The acquitted defendant is not permitted to tax costs against the
United States. Indeed the allowance of costs in criminal cases is not a
matter of right but rests completely within the discretion of the court.
Morris v. United States, 1911, 185 Fed. 73, 107 C.C.A. 293.
In Alberty v. U.S., C.C.A.9, 1937, 91 F.2d 461, the defendant was
fined $100 on each of 11 accounts of an indictment under the 1906 Food
and Drug Act (title 21, Secs. 2, 10, U.S.C., 1934 ed., as amended).
Costs of prosecution were taxed in the sum of $1,499.80. Yet the court
in its discretion might have reached substantially the same result by
imposing a fine of $200 on each count without any taxation of costs.
Changes were made in phraseology.
References in Text
The Comprehensive Forfeiture Act of 1984, referred to in subsec.
(c)(1), is chapter III of title II of Pub. L. 98-473, Oct. 12, 1984, 98
Stat. 2040, as amended. For complete classification of this Act to the
Code, see Short Title of 1984 Amendment note set out under section 1961
of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, and Tables.
Amendments
1990--Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 101-647 substituted ``if the property
is not disposed of by marshal's sale'' for ``If the property is to be
disposed of by marshal's sale''.
1988--Pub. L. 100-690 added subsecs. (a) to (d), struck out former
subsecs. (a) and (b), and redesignated former subsec. (c) as (e).
1986--Pub. L. 99-646 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a)
with pars. (1) to (9) and subsec. (b) with pars. (1) and (2),
substituted a period for the semicolon at end of each par., and added
subsec. (c).
1962--Pub. L. 87-621 increased fees for serving an attachment in
rem, or libel in admiralty, warrant, attachment, summons, capias, or any
other writ from $2 to $3, for serving a subpoena or summons for a
witness or appraiser from 50 cents to $2, for preparation of a
proclamation in admiralty from 30 cents to $3, and for copies of writs
or other papers furnished at the request of any party from 10 to 30
cents per folio of 100 words or fraction thereof, and mileage for
necessary travel from 10 cents a mile to 12 cents per mile, or fraction
thereof, inserted provisions authorizing a fee of $1, in addition to the
prescribed fee, for forwarding any writ, order, or process to another
judicial district for service, and $3 for preparation of any notice of
sale or other public notice or bill of sale, permitting payment of
travel expenses where there is an endeavor to serve any process, writ,
or order, prohibiting collection of mileage fees for services or
endeavors to serve in the District of Columbia, and empowering marshals
to require a deposit to cover all fees and expenses, and substituted
provisions authorizing a fee of $3 for serving a writ of possession,
partition, execution, order or process, and commissions of 3 per centum
on the first $1,000 collected and 1\1/2\ per centum on amounts over
$1,000 for seizing and levying on property (including seizures in
admiralty), disposing of the same and receiving and paying over the
money for provisions which permitted a marshal serving such a writ or
process, and seizing and levying on property, advertising and disposing
of the same and receiving and paying over the money, to receive the same
fees and poundage as allowed for similar services to the sheriffs of the
States in which the service is rendered, and 2\1/2\ per centum on any
sum under $500, and 1\1/2\ per centum on amounts over $500 for sale of
vessels or other property under process in admiralty, or under the order
of a court of admiralty, and provisions permitting collection of actual
expenses incurred, and $3 per hour for each deputy marshal required, for
the keeping of property attached, and directing the marshal to collect,
in advance, a deposit to cover initial expenses and periodically
thereafter such amounts as necessary to pay expenses until litigation is
concluded, for provisions which allowed only such compensation as the
court, on petition, might allow.
1950--Act Sept. 9, 1950, increased mileage fees from 6 to 10 cents a
mile.
Effective Date of 1986 Amendment
Section 39(b) of Pub. L. 99-646 provided that: ``The amendments made
by this section [amending this section] shall take effect 30 days after
the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 10, 1986].''
Effective Date of 1962 Amendment
Section 3 of Pub. L. 87-621 provided that: ``This Act [amending this
section] shall become effective ninety days after enactment [Aug. 31,
1962].''
Collection and Disposition of Fees and Expenses for Services
Pub. L. 101-162, title II, Nov. 21, 1989, 103 Stat. 997, provided in
part: ``That notwithstanding the provisions of title 31 U.S.C. 3302, for
fiscal year 1990 and hereafter the Director of the United States
Marshals Service may collect fees and expenses for the services
authorized by 28 U.S.C. 1921 as amended by Public Law 100-690, and
credit such fees to this appropriation to be used for salaries and other
expenses incurred in providing these services''.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in title 12 section 3711.
