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David Neagle, Deputy U.S. Marshal In the Matter of David Neagle
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A beautiful woman scorned by a former lover, a hot-headed husband intent on defending his wife's honor, and a Deputy U.S. Marshal assigned to protect a Supreme Court Justice came together in an explosive confrontation on August 14, 1889, in the Lathrop, California, railway station in the San Joaquin Valley. The result was a dead husband, an insane wife, and a landmark Supreme Court decision that substantially expanded the powers of the executive branch and affirmed the authority for U. S. Marshals and their Deputies to use force in the performance of their lawful duties. The Cast:
The Prologue Conflicts of Authority
Throughout the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the powers of Marshals and their Deputies were often challenged by state and local authorities. Deputies, and occasionally Marshals, were commonly arrested by local sheriffs for carrying a weapon or, if involved in a shoot-out with a lawbreaker, for murder or attempted murder. In the letter excerpted at right, Marshal Paul Strobach of Alabama reported to the Attorney General that the circuit court of Tuscaloosa County had indicted one of his Deputies for carrying a concealed weapon. The evidence against the Deputy consisted of eyewitness accounts from two prisoners whom he had in his custody. Continued: Page One | Two | Three | Four | Five See also related article on Protection of Judges
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