Judicial Review and the Case Marbury v. Madison

Marbury v. Madison

Judicial Review and Marbury v. Madison

Judicial review is the principle that the Supreme Court has the responsibility for deciding whether Congressional actions and the authority to nullify those laws that, in it's opinion, are unconstitutional. Though legislative nullification is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution as one of the Supreme Court's mandates, in practice judicial review is an extension of the principle of "checks and balances" inherent in the U.S. federal government's separation of powers. The Supreme Court established the principle of judicial review in the case of William Marbury v. James Madison, Secretary of State of the United States (usually referred to simply as Marbury v. Madison), which was decided on February 24, 1803. Though at first glance this case appeared to be a victory for the Jefferson administration, in reality, by institutionalizing the principle of judicial review, it decimated the Democratic-Republican assertions of the supremacy of legislatures with regard to defining law and interpreting the Constitution.

Marbury v. Madison has its roots in the election of 1800, which is notable for being the first American election in which the sitting president (John Adams) was not reelected. Adams was a Federalist, and his opponent, Vice-President Thomas Jefferson, was a Democratic-Republican. Though the election was decided on February 17, 1801, inauguration day was not until March 4, leaving the Federalists in power for nearly three weeks. During that time, the Federalist dominated Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1801, which significantly modified the Judiciary Act of 1789 by establishing ten additional district courts and doubling the number of circuit courts from three to six. The law also gave the president the power to appoint federal judges and justice of the peace. In other words, this was an attempt to deprive the Democratic-Republicans of the fruits of their electoral victory and saddle them with Federalist judges who would frustrate Jefferson's agenda.

The Senate quickly ratified Adams' appointments, and the Secretary of State, John Marshall, began delivering the commissions. However, not all of the commissions were delivered when Jefferson was sworn into office, and the new president directed his attorney general, Levi Lincoln, to direct the new Secretary of State, James Madison, not to deliver them. This was a problem, because no commission meant that the appointed individual could not begin serving as a judge, effectively frustrating the Federalists' attempt to pack the federal courts. Moreover, within two months of taking office, the Democratic-Republican controlled Congress effectively repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801 with the Judiciary Act of 1802, basically returning court administration to the terms of the Judiciary Act of 1789.