Wednesday, January 30, 2013
3. How important is the Supreme Court ruling in Marbury v. Madison and why?
The Supreme Court ruling in Marbury v. Madison is very important. The case helped to establish the power of judicial review. Judicial review is the authority of the Court to strike down any law passed by Congress if the Court believes the law violates the Constitution. When Thomas Jefferson became president, his new secretary of state, James Madison, refused to deliver the commission, thus keeping Marbury from assuming his office. Then, Marbury filed suit at the Supreme Court, believing that the Judiciary Act of 1789 expanded the Court's original jurisdiction to give the Court the authority to hear cases involving writs of mandamus. The Court in this decision thus granted itself the momentous authority of judicial review.
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I find it very interesting that the Supreme Court granted themselves that power over paperwork. I would say that it would be very easy to forget to deliver paperwork when it’s at a time like this one. Considering it was in the last few days of Adams’s presidency. It also interesting that the new secretary of state didn’t want to deliver the paperwork.
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