Pos 110 - Checkpoint: The Impact of The Supreme Court

Name

Date

POS 110

Checkpoint: The Impact of the Supreme Court

The case being discussed is the case of Marbury vs. Madison. The impact of this case is truly significant mainly because of its outcome. During the end of John Adams' presidency, he made many federal appointments and one of them was the appointment of William Marbury to a minor judiciary position. During the early 1800's, appointments were made by commission or notice to the appointee. When President Jefferson took office, he informed James Madison, the newly appointed Secretary of State, not to deliver the remaining commissions; this is to include the notice to William Marbury. Because of this, Marbury sued James Madison. Basically, the central issue was to get the Supreme Court to build a case against James Madison to deliver the remaining commissions.

Unfortunately for William Marbury, James Madison won the case. In fact, the case was originally built upon the Judiciary Act of 1789 which supported the commission of federal appointees. It was through the wise decision of the great Chief Justice, John Marshall that the courts did not rule in favor of Marbury. "The Supreme Court could not issue the writ of mandamus, Marshall reasoned, because the power to do so rested in an unconstitutional provision in the 1789 Judiciary Act; the Constitution is superior to any ordinary act of the legislature, the legislation itself was invalid" (Democracy Reader, 1992).

The lasting impact was that this case laid the foundation for judicial power. This was, in fact, the first time the Supreme Court ruled a law as unconstitutional. I am in agreement with the decision because a case should not be decided based on out-dated or unconstitutional laws. However, I do question the long term effects because this case marked the birth of the power of judicial review.

References

Marshall, John (Supreme Court justice). (1992). Marbury vs. Madison. The Democracy Reader, 141(5). Retrieved June 9, 2011, from Gale Power Search Database.

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