The case that established the Supreme Court's right to rule on constitutional questions grew out of the kind of partisan game-playing that has always been
a feature of Washington, D.C.
In 1800, the Federalist Party was sitting pretty, with John Adams in the White House and control of both houses of Congress. But that November, Thomas Jefferson
narrowly defeated Adams in the presidential election.
Friends in High Places
To ensure that Federalist Party favorites controlled the courts, Adams appointed scores of judges and justices of the peace just before he had to leave
office.
The Federalist Congress quickly approved every appointment. Soon, the paperwork was completed, and the commissions were turned over to the secretary of
state, John Marshall, who was supposed to make sure they were delivered.
At least a dozen of the commissions never got to the appointees. (Marshall always said it was an honest mistake.) Then, when Jefferson took over, he refused
to give the appointees their official papers, without which they could not start their new jobs.
Got Commission?
William Marbury had been appointed a justice of the peace in the District of Columbia, but he had never received his official commission. Along with a few
other men in the same boat, he sued the new secretary of state, James Madison.
Before leaving office, Adams had named the old secretary of state, John Marshall, chief justice of the Supreme Court. Before all was said and done, Chief
Justice John Marshall would have to quote witness John Marshall explaining how the documents had gone astray.
Mandamus
Marbury asked the Supreme Court to rule that the Jefferson administration had no right to refuse to give him his commission. In legal terms, Marbury petitioned
the court to issue a "writ of mandamus"-–an order that requires a public official to perform a particular duty. In this case, that duty was to deliver
the commissions.
Marshall and the other five justices pondered the case for more than a year before issuing their decision. When Marbury read the first few pages, he must
have been encouraged. Writing for the court, Marshall stated that as soon as the official papers were signed and sealed, the job was Marbury's. Possession
of the physical document was unnecessary. Marshall went on to say that Marbury certainly deserved his writ of mandamus.
No Mandamus
Then came the big "but." The court found that, even though Marbury was entitled to the job, the law under which he was suing was unconstitutional. That
meant that the Supreme Court had to strike down the law, without which they couldn't compel Jefferson to give Marbury his papers.
The law in question was the Judiciary Act of 1789, which authorized the court to issue the kind of writ Marbury wanted. Marshall pointed out that the Constitution
specifies the kinds of cases the Supreme Court should hear. With only a few exceptions (not including writs of mandamus), the Supreme Court hears cases
only on appeal from lower courts.
Essentially, Marshall told Marbury he was in the right, but in the wrong courtroom. He should have made his case to judges in the Circuit Court for the
District of Columbia.
Why Marbury Matters
It was the first time the Supreme Court had asserted the right to overturn any law that goes against the Constitution. In a few strokes of Marshall's quill,
the court gained the authority to check and balance both the Congress and the president--even though this authority is not spelled out in the Constitution.
Jefferson, for one, was incensed by the ruling. "Certainly there is not a word in the Constitution which has given that power to them more than to the Executive
or Legislative branches," he wrote in 1815.
Marshall, whom some would call the first judicial activist, set another precedent for the Supreme Court. He lived to be 79 years old and never retired,
leading the Supreme Court for nearly thirty-five years. The court issued many significant decisions during his tenure, but never again declared a law unconstitutional.
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