Marbury Vs Madison Essay

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Marbury v. Madison is a landmark case handled by the U.S Supreme Court in 1803. The case came from a petition that was filed with the Supreme Court by William Marbury in order to force James Madison, the Secretary of State for Thomas Jefferson to deliver commissioning documents to confirm his appointment as a Justice of the Peace in the District of Columbia. Before leaving his office, President John Adams, under the Organic Act, had appointed sixteen circuit judges and forty two justices of the peace for the District of Columbia. President Adams signed the commissions while the acting Secretary of State John Marshall then sealed the commissions. Marshall later became the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and was involved in the determination…show more content…
Therefore, the constitutional power of the executive had already been exercised by President Adams. The Supreme Court also ruled that the law grants the complainant a remedy because the essence of civil liberty is the right of every citizen to claim protection in case of an injury, so yes the law grants Marbury a remedy. The very essence of civil liberty certainly consists in the right of every individual to claim the protection of the laws whenever he receives an injury. One of the first duties of government is to afford that protection .The refusal to deliver the commission after an executive authority had completed the appointment was a violation of his right and the country’s laws afford him a remedy. The most important ruling in this case formed the basis for the exercise of the principle of judicial review in the U.S under Article III of the country’s constitution. The ruling indicated that the Supreme Court has the power to review acts of congress and determine their constitutionality and whether they are void. According to John Marshall, judiciary has a duty to say what the law is. Therefore those who apply rules to a particular case must interpret and expound the rule. If there is a conflict between two laws, the court must decide how each law

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