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    Marbury V Madison

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    Marbury v. Madison was a landmark 1803 Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review. It involved William Marbury, who was appointed to be a judge by President Adams but did not receive his commission before Adams left office. Marbury sued, asking the Supreme Court to force Secretary of State Madison to deliver the commission. The Court ruled it did not have the power to issue such an order because the law allowing Marbury to file directly with the Supreme Court was unconstitutional. This established that the Supreme Court has the power to strike down laws that contradict the Constitution, asserting its role as coequal branch of government.

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    Marbury V Madison

    Uploaded by

    api-261009456
    1K views2 pages
    Marbury v. Madison was a landmark 1803 Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review. It involved William Marbury, who was appointed to be a judge by President Adams but did not receive his commission before Adams left office. Marbury sued, asking the Supreme Court to force Secretary of State Madison to deliver the commission. The Court ruled it did not have the power to issue such an order because the law allowing Marbury to file directly with the Supreme Court was unconstitutional. This established that the Supreme Court has the power to strike down laws that contradict the Constitution, asserting its role as coequal branch of government.

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    Marbury v. Madison was a landmark 1803 Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review. It involved William Marbury, who was appointed to be a judge by President Adams but did not receive his commission before Adams left office. Marbury sued, asking the Supreme Court to force Secretary of State Madison to deliver the commission. The Court ruled it did not have the power to issue such an order because the law allowing Marbury to file directly with the Supreme Court was unconstitutional. This established that the Supreme Court has the power to strike down laws that contradict the Constitution, asserting its role as coequal branch of government.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    1K views2 pages

    Marbury V Madison

    Uploaded by

    api-261009456
    Marbury v. Madison was a landmark 1803 Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review. It involved William Marbury, who was appointed to be a judge by President Adams but did not receive his commission before Adams left office. Marbury sued, asking the Supreme Court to force Secretary of State Madison to deliver the commission. The Court ruled it did not have the power to issue such an order because the law allowing Marbury to file directly with the Supreme Court was unconstitutional. This established that the Supreme Court has the power to strike down laws that contradict the Constitution, asserting its role as coequal branch of government.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    Marbury v.

    Madison (1803)

    Name:

    But the President Said I Could Be a Judge!


    In 1800, President John Adams ran to be re-elected as president, but he
    lost to Thomas Jefferson. During his last weeks in office, Adams
    appointed a bunch of men to be justices of the peace in the District of
    Columbia. Each man would receive a paper commission that was signed
    and sealed. The commissions were prepared, but they were not sent
    before Adams left office. When President Jefferson took over, he refused
    to send them.
    One man, William Marbury, was upset. He wanted to be a judge! So he
    asked the United States Supreme Court to issue a legal order called a writ
    of mandamus (man-DAY-mus). In this case, the writ would have required
    Marburys commission to be delivered.

    The Argument

    James Madison was Jeffersons


    Secretary of State. He was told
    not to deliver the commissions.

    Did you notice that Marbury didnt start in a regular, local court?
    He started at the Supreme Court. Normally, that would be
    backwards. But in 1789, Congress had passed a law saying
    people could start at the Supreme Court if all they wanted was a
    writ of mandamus. Marbury argued that he was entitled to the
    writ because his commission had already been created. He also
    argued that the Supreme Court had the power to issue the writ.

    The Decision
    The Supreme Court agreed that Marbury had a right to receive his
    commission, but disagreed that the Court had the power to issue
    the writ. Why? Because the Supreme Court gets its power directly
    from the Constitution, and the Constitution says only certain kinds
    of cases can start at the Supreme Court. That meant the 1789 law
    passed by Congress was unconstitutional. Congress did not have
    the power to allow more kinds of cases to start at the Supreme
    Court. Therefore, the Supreme Court said it could not help Marbury
    get his commission.

    So What?

    William Marbury never did receive


    his commission. Photo courtesy of
    Maryland Historical Society.

    Believe it or not, this is considered one of the most important


    cases the Supreme Court has ever decided. Thats because it
    was the first time the Supreme Court struck down an act of
    Congress for being unconstitutional. The idea that the
    Supreme Court has the final say about what is constitutional is
    called judicial review. Judicial review lets the judicial branch
    do two things: 1) interpret the Constitution and decide what it
    means, and 2) stop the executive and legislative branches
    from doing things that go against the Constitution.
    Thanks to Marbury v. Madison, today the
    three branches of government are equal.

    The decision in Marbury v. Madison helped cement the judicial


    branch as equal with the other two branches of government by
    giving it equal power.
    Reading

    Marbury v. Madison (1803)

    Name:

    Supreme Court Strikedown: End of the Line for a Law? The Supreme Court may declare a law
    unconstitutional, but that doesnt always mean the whole law is dead. Congress can change the law,
    repeal the law and pass a new one, drop the subject, or even amend the Constitution itself!
    First, read about four laws the Supreme Court has struck down. Then see if you can correctly guess what
    happened next! When youre done, match the letter of each law to its answer below. (Heyno peeking!)

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    Activity

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