Marbury v. Madison: a landmark decision made 200 years ago changed the Supreme Court forever. (American History).On the cold, rainy morning of March 4, 1801, Chief Justice John Marshall administered the oath of office An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before undertaking the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. to Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the U.S. Jefferson and Marshall were cousins who had grown up together in Virginia. Both had shown an early interest in the law, and both became leading statesmen and politicians. The two men even looked alike: Each was over six feet tall, had piercing black eyes, and wore rumpled, ill-fitted clothes. Yet, they were neither friends nor political allies. In fact, they hated each other. In a letter to a friend A Letter to a Friend (written 1656; published posthumously in 1690) , by the 17th century philosopher and physician Sir Thomas Browne is a medical treatise full of case-histories and witty speculations upon the human condition. , Marshall described Jefferson as "overly ambitious" and "untrustworthy." Jefferson, in turn, called Marshall "a menace" and "a man to be feared." Federal Versus State Power What divided the two cousins? Politics. Marshall was a Federalist fed·er·al·ist n. 1. An advocate of federalism. 2. Federalist A member or supporter of the Federalist Party. adj. 1. Of or relating to federalism or its advocates. 2. . He believed in a strong federal government that was superior in power to the individual states. Jefferson was a Democratic-Republican. He advocated (called for) states' rights states' rights, in U.S. history, doctrine based on the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, which states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. and distrusted the power of the federal government. Federalists and Democratic-Republicans bitterly opposed each other. Each side distrusted the other's vision for the political future of the nation. Marshall and Jefferson disliked each other for another reason. Marshall was convinced that an independent and strong Supreme Court would offer the best protection for the U.S. Constitution and the American people An American people may be:
Jefferson struck the first blow. Concerned that too many Federalists had jobs in the government and the judiciary (court) system, he instructed his Secretary of State, James Madison, to block more Federalists from taking office. While following this order, Madison prevented Federalist William Marbury William Marbury (born November 7th, 1762) was one of the famous "Midnight Judges". Due to President John Adams's work in the night before he was to leave office, Marbury was to be appointed a Justice of the Peace in the District of Columbia. from becoming a justice of the peace. John Adams, the previous President and a Federalist, had appointed (named) Marbury to his position. Adams had signed a commission (formal document) giving Marbury the job. But because of a mistake, Marbuty did not receive the commission before Adams left office. Now, Jefferson ordered Madison not to deliver it. An angry Marbury went directly to the Supreme Court. He asked the Court to order Madison to deliver the commission. Marbury and his lawyers urged the Court to issue an order known as a writ of mandamus Noun 1. writ of mandamus - an extraordinary writ commanding an official to perform a ministerial act that the law recognizes as an absolute duty and not a matter for the official's discretion; used only when all other judicial remedies fail mandamus (man DAY mus). This document forces a government official to carry out an official duty. Marbury argued that the Court had the power to do this under the Judiciary Act The title Judiciary Act may refer to any of several statutes relating to the organization of national court systems:
A Weak Court The case presented Chief Justice Marshall Justice Marshall:
the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time Court made few decisions and was almost irrelevant (unimportant) in national politics. In 1800, when the U.S. government moved to Washington, D.C., the Supreme Court was not even given an official home. Instead, the Justices met in a small, private room. In 1801, when Marshall arrived for his first session as Chief Justice, only one of the five other Justices bothered to show up. Marshall knew that if he ruled in favor of Marbury, President Jefferson might simply ignore him. On the other hand, if he denied Marbury's request for a writ, it would look as if Jefferson had made him back down. It seemed that either decision would weaken the Court further. A Landmark Decision A landmark decision is the outcome of a legal case (often thus referred to as a landmark case) that establishes a precedent that either substantially changes the interpretation of the law or that simply establishes new case law on a particular issue. Marshall wrestled with the problem for two weeks. On February 24, 1803, he made a decision in the case of Marbury v. Madison Marbury v. Madison, case decided in 1803 by the U.S. Supreme Court. William Marbury had been commissioned justice of the peace in the District of Columbia by President John Adams in the "midnight appointments" at the very end of his administration. that surprised everyone. Marshall first announced that Marbury had a right to his job as a justice of the peace, and that Jefferson and Madison were wrong in denying him the appointment. Marshall also said that the Judiciary Act of 1789 did permit the Supreme Court to issue writs of mandamus mandamus (măndā`məs) [Lat.,=we order], in law, writ directing the performance of ministerial acts. A ministerial act is one that a person or body is obliged by law to perform under given circumstances; e.g. , as Marbury had argued. But then came Marshall's big surprise: The Judiciary Act was in conflict with the Constitution. How? Article III of the Constitution allows the Supreme Court to issue writs, Marshall said, but only in special cases involving "ambassadors and foreign consuls." Ordinary citizens had to take their cases to a lower court. This meant that Marbury, an ordinary citizen, was in the wrong court! In fact, Marshall declared, Congress was mistaken in writing the Judiciary Act in the first place. The act said that any citizen could go to the Supreme Court and request a writ. But this gave a power to the Supreme Court that the Constitution did not allow. When an act of Congress and the Constitution are in conflict, Marshall said, the Constitution must be followed. Thus, said Marshall, the Judiciary Act of 1789 was invalid. Case dismissed. Marbury's appeal was denied. Judicial Review Marshall's ruling appeared to be a victory for President Jefferson. After all, Marbury, a Federalist, didn't get his job. The decision also seemed to limit the power of the Court by taking away its right to issue writs in most cases. In reality, the decision gave the Court immense new power. How? Marshall ruled that it was "the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is." In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , the Supreme Court now had the power to declare a law passed by Congress unconstitutional. Since Marshall's famous decision, the Supreme Court has had the final word on all acts of Congress. This power to decide if acts of Congress are constitutional is called judicial review. Judicial review has been used to stop the government from acting in areas where it has no authority. It has also been used to protect individual tights. Through its use of judicial review, the Supreme Court has become one of the most powerful legal bodies in the world. Marshall made many more important decisions during his 34 years on the Supreme Court, but not one was more influential than Marbury v. Madison. Because of his role in establishing the independence of the Court, Marshall is known to this day as "the Great Chief Justice." RELATED ARTICLE: U.S. SUPREME COURT TIME LINE 1787: The U.S. Constitution calls for the creation of "one Supreme Court." 1789: The Judiciary Act defines the Supreme Court as having one Chief Justice and five Associate Justices. 1790: The Court meets for the first time on February 2, in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . 1801: President John Adams appoints John Marshall of Virginia as Chief Justice of the Court. Marshall will become one of the most influential Chief Justices in history. 1803: In Marbury v. Madison, the Court greatly expands its power by establishing its right to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional. 1810: The Supreme Court is given a chamber in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The Court abandons the chamber during the War of 1812, when the British set fire to the building. 1896: In Plessy v. Ferguson Plessy v. Ferguson, case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896. The court upheld an 1890 Louisiana statute mandating racially segregated but equal railroad carriages, ruling that the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth amendment to the U.S. , the Court rules that racial segregation is constitutional. The decision leads to repressive Jim Crow laws Jim Crow laws, in U.S. history, statutes enacted by Southern states and municipalities, beginning in the 1880s, that legalized segregation between blacks and whites. The name is believed to be derived from a character in a popular minstrel song. in the South. 1935: The U.S. Supreme Court building opens in Washington, D.C. 1954: In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, 47 S. Ct. 686, 98 L. Ed. 873, was the most significant of a series of judicial decisions overturning segregation laws—laws that separate whites and blacks. , the Court overturns Plessy v. Ferguson and rules that school segregation is unconstitutional. 1966: In Miranda v. Arizona Miranda v. Arizona, U.S. Supreme Court case (1966) in the area of due process of law (see Fourteenth Amendment). The decision reversed an Arizona court's conviction of Ernesto Miranda on kidnapping and rape charges. , the Court expands on the due process (or fair treatment) clause of the 14th Amendment. Under the Miranda ruling, police are required to inform all criminal suspects of their rights to remain silent and have access to an attorney. 1967: Thurgood Marshall, the chief lawyer in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, becomes the first African-American Justice appointed to the Court. 1981: Sandra Day O'Connor Sandra Day O'Connor (born March 26 1930) is an American jurist who served as the first female Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. She was considered a strict constructionist. is the first female Justice appointed to the Court. 2000: After one of the closest presidential races in U.S. history, the Court rules against a manual recount of ballots in certain Florida counties. As a result, George W. Bush becomes the 43rd President of the U.S. Your Turn THINK ABOUT IT In 1820, Thomas Jefferson wrote that "it is very dangerous doctrine to consider the [Justices] as the ultimate [deciders] of all constitutional questions." Do you agree? |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion