1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Patrick T. Carothers U.S. Marshals Service Hiring Improvement Act of 2017 . 2. United States Marshals Service excepted service appointment authority (a) In general Chapter 37 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 570. Excepted service appointment authority (a) Definitions In this section, the terms competitive service and excepted service have the meanings given those terms in sections 2102 and 2103, respectively, of title 5. (b) Authority The Director may appoint a qualified candidate to the position of deputy marshal or criminal investigator— (1) in accordance with the statutes, rules, and regulations governing appointments under Schedule B of the excepted service; and (2) notwithstanding any statutes, rules, or regulations governing appointments in the competitive service. (c) Rule of construction The appointment of a candidate to a position under the authority under subsection (b) shall not be considered to cause the position to be converted from the competitive service to the excepted service. (d) Limit Service by an incumbent in a position under the authority under subsection (b) may not exceed 4 years. (e) Noncompetitive conversion The Director may, upon satisfactory completion of 3 years of substantially continuous service by a qualified incumbent who was appointed to a position under the authority under subsection (b), convert the appointment of the individual, without competition, to a career or career-conditional appointment. . (b) Technical and conforming amendment The table of sections for chapter 37 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 570. Excepted service appointment authority. .