Marbury V Madison

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Marbury v. Madison

The power of the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality and the validity of the acts of the executive and legislative branches of government is firmly established as a basic element of the American system of government. Chief Justice John Marshall’s opinion in the case of Marbury v. Madison resulted in a landmark decision in the history of the Supreme Court. The court’s ruling established the power of judicial review, declared that the Constitution was the supreme law of the land, and that the Supreme Court has the final authority on interpreting the Constitution (Urofsky, par. 4).
Under the administration of George Washington and his successor, John Adams, only members of the ruling Federalist Party were appointed to the judicial bench. In the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republican Party defeated Adams removing the Federalists from power. In an effort to keep at least one branch of the government under Federalist control, Congress under the Adams administration, passed the Judiciary Act of 1801 which created a number of new judgeships. In the rush of appointments before leaving office, President Adams sent twenty-three names of justices of the peace for Washington County to the Senate. In total, he signed commissions that put fifty-nine men into office (“Marbury’s Travail”).
In the final weeks before Jefferson took office, John Marshall was the Secretary of State and newly appointed Chief Justice. As Secretary of State, he had the responsibility of delivering the commissions. Before Adams left office, he
had delivered all but seventeen. After his inauguration, Jefferson discovered the undelivered commissions and ordered the new Secretary of State, James
Madison, to withhold them (“Marbury’s Travail”). Among the twenty-three appointments Adams had made for Washington County, he included a man named William Marbury, a loyal Federalist. Jeffers...