Jus in Bello

The title is a direct reference to a plot element. Jus in bello means "justice in war" and refers to the guidelines for "fighting well" once war has begun.

Agent Henrikson keeps ordering the Sheriff and his deputies around like he is their superior, including things like acting like he has the authority to release people the Sheriff has arrested, which he does not. This is a common TV/movie mistake, while the FBI can take jurisdiction of a case from local police, if the case meets the requirements, they can't just come in and order local police around and they cannot take jurisdiction over any case they want, there are very clear regulations stating what type of crimes are federal jurisdiction and what types fall under state, county and city jurisdiction. Federal law enforcement agencies do not have a blanket authority over local law enforcement agencies. Outside of requests made pertaining to a federal case a FBI agent cannot just walk in and start ordering police officers around, and those officers are under no obligation to listen to said agent unless it pertains directly to matters of the case the agent has jurisdiction on.

References The Andy Griffith Show (1960)