Marbury v' Madison

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Marbury v. Madison

• 1803

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Jefferson defeats incumbent Adams in Presidential
election of 1800. Adams last day in office is
March 3, 1801.
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(No Transcript)
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Adams and Jefferson
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Congress, in support of Adams, established 16 new
judgeships and many other offices.
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Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth of the S.C.
resigns Adams chooses John Marshall, Secretary
of State, as replacement.
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John Marshall
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March 2, 1801 Adams signs commissions appointing
midnight justices until 900 pm. Senate
confirms.
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Secretary of State (Marshall) is supposed to
affix the Great Seal of the U.S. He didnt
finish.
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One of the forgotten appointments is for James
Marshall, Johns brother, as circuit judge for
D.C.
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Jefferson takes office March 4 several
commissions delivered that morning.
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Thomas Jefferson
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James Madison
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Jefferson learns of appointments an outrage on
decency and personally unkind.
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James Madison, Jeffersons Secty of State
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Madison not in D.C. yet acting Secty is Levi
Lincoln. Jefferson gives Lincoln his own list of
JPs, 7 of which are different than Adams.
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January, 1802 TJ supports a Repeal Bill to
eliminate new judgeships, and June term of Court
is abolished. Purpose avoid constitutional
challenge from Federalists.
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William Marbury, 41, one of the eliminated JPs
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Marbury, along with 2 others, asks Court to order
Madison to distribute commissions a writ of
mandamus.
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The Court is empowered by Congress to issue such
a writ by the Judiciary Act of 1789
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Marshall tells Madison to show cause why order
should not be issued. Madison stalls.
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Plaintiffs do not have physical proof of
commissions. James Marshall signs affidavit that
commission had been signed and sealed
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Marshalls Dilemma
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John Marshall
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Certainly there is not a word in the Constitution
which has given that power (Judicial Review) to
them (the Courts) more than to the Executive or
Legislative branches.    Thomas Jefferson
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John Marshall
"It is emphatically the province and duty of the
judicial department to say what the law is."
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John Marshall
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Marshall never declared another act of Congress
unconstitutional. It was not until 1857 that the
Supreme Court again invalidated an act of
Congress .
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In the notorious Dred Scott case, Chief Justice
Taney invalidated the 1820 Missouri Compromise.
His decision that Congress could not end slavery
in the territories damaged the Court's
reputation, and threatened the viability of
judicial review.
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The opinion did not even mention Marbury, which
was not cited as an authority for judicial review
until 1887. Not until 1895 was it employed in
actually striking down an act of Congress.