After the signing of the Judiciary Act of , Adams nominated and the Senate approved 16 new judges and 42 justices of the peace prior to leaving office. At that point, the appointment process was considered complete when the signed and sealed appointments had been delivered by the secretary of state, at that time John Marshall , to the appointees. After Jefferson took office, he instructed his secretary of state, James Madison , to decline to deliver any outstanding appointments from the Adams administration.
William Marbury, who Adams had appointed Justice of the Peace for the District of Columbia, petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus , a ruling that would have compelled Madison to deliver his commission or to demonstrate why Marbury should not receive it. In a decision, the Supreme Court ruled that although it was illegal for Madison to withhold the delivery of the appointments, forcing Madison to deliver the appointments was beyond the power of the U.
Supreme Court. In answering the first two questions, Marshall and the court found that the plaintiffs, who included Marbury, had the right to receive their commissions and could use the judicial system to seek those appointments. The Marbury case has been understood as the decision that established a precedent of judicial review , the notion that laws passed by Congress could be reviewed by the judicial branch of government to determine their adherence to the Constitution.
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The landmark case Marbury v. Madison marked the first time the Court asserted its role in reviewing federal legislation to determine its compatibility with the Constitution -- the function of judicial review.
Above, a portrait of plaintiff William Marbury. Reproduction courtesy of the Office of the Supreme Court Curator. Published in December All rights reserved. Check local listings. Madison Marbury v. In the late eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century, the two parties dominating the American political scene were the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans.
In the presidential election of , the Electoral College had a tie vote, and it fell to the House of Representatives to decide the outcome. After a bitter battle and 36 ballots, on 17 February the House voted for the Democratic-Republican candidate, Thomas Jefferson. Supreme Court that was being vacated by the ailing Oliver Ellsworth. Adams then nominated his Secretary of State and close advisor, John Marshall , to fill the spot. Nevertheless, just a week after his nomination, the U. Senate unanimously confirmed him for the top spot on the court.
Adams still had two months left in his term and needed help, so he asked Marshall to do both the Secretary of State and Chief Justice jobs at once. But in , it might not have seemed such a big deal. Adams, meanwhile, rushed to fill as many other judicial positions as possible before his political enemy, Thomas Jefferson , took office.
After the Senate approved his choices the next day, Marshall was assigned to finalize the paperwork and deliver the commissions. He told his own Secretary of State, James Madison , to withhold the four undelivered commissions.
Marbury sued to get his job. But instead he went directly to the Supreme Court and petitioned for a writ of mandamus , ordering Madison to give them their commissions. On February 10, , the Supreme Court convened to hear the case.
The case hinged on three issues. First, did Marbury and the other appointees have a right to their commissions? Second, if they did have a right that had been violated, did federal law provide a remedy? Finally, was an order from the U. Supreme Court the right remedy to solve the problem? Marshall, who presided over the case despite having played a role in the events, found himself in a difficult position.
But if the court ruled in favor of the Jefferson Administration, it would look as if it had given in to political pressure.
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