Marbury v. Madison
by Selase Buatsi and Taddie Cook
Description
William Marbury was named a Justice of the Peace for Washington DC by the Judiciary Act of 1801, which was the last important act passed by John Adams. This act was viewed as a trick of putting Federalists in lifetime positions to ensure the party was still in the government. As a result the Democratic-Republican Congress planned to repeal the Judiciary Act, removing all 16 judges that had been appointed. Due to the Democratic- Republican's belief that the appointments were invalid, James Madison took away William Marbury's commission for serving as a judge. Marbury sued Madison but his case was dismissed by the Supreme Court. Accepting the case would have created a political battle for the Chief Justice, John Marshall. Marshall was a Federalists that the Democratic-Republicans were planning on removing. Marshall explained why he dismissed the case as the appeal fell under powers not given to the Supreme Court. Marbury wanted the Court to grant him a writ of mandamus, which would force Madison to show evidence of why he should not receive pay. Marshall declared the power to grant a writ was not given to the Supreme Court by the Constitution, and so was unconstitutional. By declaring unconstitutionality of the case, Marshall was giving the Supreme Court the right to decide constitutionality.
William Marbury
Marbury was suing Madison to try and gain back his commission for serving as Justice of the Peace.
John Marshall
Marshall was the chief justice of the Supreme Court. He dismissed Marbury's case, while granting the Supreme Court the power of Judical Review.
The Judiciary Act of 1801
The Judiciary Act created 16 "midnight judges" whose appointments were rumored to have been signed late on John Adam's last day as president.
Significance
The power of the Supreme Court to decide constitutionality is now referred to as Judicial Review, and is the fundamental function of the Supreme Court today. Judicial Review provides a check on both the executive and the legislative branch, helping keep the government balanced. It also helped diminish the power of the states to declare unconstitutionality and nullify laws which were argued for in the Kentucky Resolution. This power was now granted to the federal government and not the states.
Citations
John Marshall. Digital image. Law School of William and Mary. William and Mary, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.
Judiciary Act of 1801. Digital image. Consitutional Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.
Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, Thomas Andrew Bailey, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. The American Pageant: A History of the Republic. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Print.
McBride, Alex. "Marbury v. Madison." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.