Judicial Review and J. Marshal
As the fourth Supreme Court Chief Justice of the United States of America, John Marshall created a legacy that has endured nearly two hundred years. While writing the majority opinion for the Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803, he single-handedly changed the course of our judicial system. He did this by granting the judicial branch the power to determine a law unconstitutional, otherwise known as judicial review. The question at hand, then, is to explore how this one ruling on a seemingly insignificant case became a worthy landmark on the timeline of United States history. Just as any decision, at any specific point in time, Marshall did not intentionally choose to eradicate the norm and clear a new path for the future. He was neither attempting to establish judicial supremacy nor rewrite the law. Nevertheless, this seemingly ingenious decision was clearly groundbreaking in that it was the first instance on which the Supreme Court officially established its power over legislation, and has since been viewed as the basis for judicial authority (Gunnarson 2). However, John Marshall's ruling in the case of Marbury v. Madison was undoubtedly the only logical choice, and was based on three important factors: previou
One way to explain a specific moment in time is to relate it to other events in history. Many theories and concepts that arise are the product of the blending and molding of previous beliefs and ideals. The establishment of judicial review is a prime example. John Marshall did not invent judicial review, yet crafted a clever way to declare its credibility. The evidence introduced in this essay supports the fact that equivalent theories of judicial review previously existed and that Marshall had no other options but to rule against Marbury as he did (Gunnarson 27). John Marshall created an outcome that best benefited his own personal and political party's interests, by establishing a check on the legislative branch and by enforcing popular sovereignty as laid out in the Constitution. At the time preceding the Marbury v. Madison case, the United States was undergoing a critical transformation. For the first time in its history, the political power was switching hands from the Federalists to the Republicans. The Federalists had lost the presidential election, and the Republicans took over many strategic political positions. The federal courts were under a continued attack by newly appointed President Jefferson and the Republican Party who wished to bring the courts under the command of the executive branch. In spite of this, the lone area of power in Washington D.C. for the Federalists remained in the Supreme Court, where the justices served life-long terms. William Marbury, a Federalist, was fighting for his Justice of the Peace appointment made by lame-duck president John Adams (Clinton 285). One of Marshall's options was to rule in favor of Marbury, thus helping the cause of the Federalists in the short run. However, this would have angered the Republicans. Marshal
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Approximate Word count = 1208
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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