WASHINGTON -- The chief U.S. marshal for the District of Columbia, who in two weeks on the job was involved in several disputes including a mixup over transporting John W. Hinckley Jr., is out of a job.
Justice Department sources said a dispute over transferring the 27-year-old presidential attacker for a hearing was the 'culmination' of a number of problems involving U.S. Marshal James Golden.
The Justice Department said Golden, who took office Aug. 2, was notified Wednesday that President Reagan signed the dismissal papers Tuesday night.
Golden, 57, reached at his Virginia home, declined to comment about why he was dismissed, saying he may have a statement at a future date.
He had been recommended for the job by the Republican National Committee, according to department officials.
Golden 'proved not to be the man for the job,' the source said.
Another source said Golden became embroiled in a dispute over whether his office or the witness security section of the marshal service had jurisdiction to transport Hinckley from St. Elizabeths Hospital to the U.S. District Court for a hearing on Aug. 9.
Hinckley was taken to the courthouse for the hearing on his mental status and commitment and returned to the hospital without incident.
Since Hinckley's arrest March 30, 1981, for shooting Reagan, he has been transported by deputy marshals from the special section, according to sources.
'The problem was a dispute between who has authority, the U.S. marshal (Golden) or the director's office, and there is no doubt that the director of the U.S. Marshal's Service runs the operation,' said one department source.
Golden was the director of the Enforcement Criminal Conspiracies Division at the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration before Reagan nominated him as a chief U.S. marshal a week after Hinckley's trial ended on June 21.
He replaced J. Jerome Bullock, a Carter appointee, as head of the largest U.S. marshal's office in the country. The office had the primary responsibility for Hinckley during his two-month trial in U.S. District Court in Washington.
Federal marshals are nominated by the president and must be confirmed by the Senate. They serve at the pleasure of the president.
