Marbury v Madison

Marbury v Madison

Power of the Supreme Court

Multiple Choice

The part of the government that is responsible for carrying out laws. The president is the head of the national executive branch.

• The executive branch

• Judicial Branch

Multiple Choice

An order to the executive branch by the president. This has the same effect as a law, except it is not passed by Congress.

• Judicial Review

• Executive Order

Multiple Choice

The power of the court to decide whether a law or decision by the government conflicts with the Constitution.

• Judicial Review

• Judicial Issue

Multiple Choice

Not allowed by or contained in the Constitution. If a law is unconstitutional, it will be struck down, meaning it is no longer a law.

• Unconstitutional

• Political Party

Marbury v. Madison (1803) Argued: February 11, 1803 Decided: February 24, 1803 

In the early 1800s, the Constitution was still very new. There were a lot of questions about what it meant and what powers it gave to the different branches of the government. This was true when it came to the powers of the Supreme Court. Many of the powers the Supreme Court has today, like the power to declare laws unconstitutional, did not yet exist. This case is important because it explains how the Supreme Court got that power. 

President Adams

In 1801, President John Adams appointed many judges just before the end of his presidential term. Secretary of State John Marshall was supposed to finish the paperwork and deliver it to the new judges, but he did not deliver the papers to 17 of these judges. When Thomas Jefferson became president, he appointed James Madison as his new secretary of state.

President Jefferson

President Jefferson told Madison not to deliver the papers. He belonged to a different political party than President Adams and many of the judges he appointed. President Jefferson wanted to appoint his own judges from his own political party instead. Without the papers, the judges that President Adams appointed could not take office.

Lawsuit

William Marbury was one of the judges who did not receive his paperwork. He sued James Madison and asked the Supreme Court to issue an order that would require Madison to deliver his papers. Marbury said that the Judiciary Act of 1789 gave the Supreme Court the power to issue these orders to U.S. government officials. 

You Decide! Arguments for Marbury

• Marbury should be appointed because President Adams ordered it. − The Judiciary Act of 1789 gives the Supreme Court the power to order Madison to deliver the papers. − James Madison is a government official. He is required to follow President Adams’s official act by delivering the papers. The Supreme Court should use its power to require Madison to deliver them.

You Decide! Arguments for Madison

• − Marbury’s appointment did not happen because his papers were not physically delivered before the end of President Adams’ term. − The question of whether Marbury’s appointment was lawful is a political question, not a judicial issue. Political questions are issues that the Court should not decide. Sometimes this is because the Constitution does not give the Court enough guidance to decide the issue. Sometimes this is because the issue is one for another branch of government (the legislative branch or executive branch) to decide.

Poll

Who should win this case?

• Marbury

• Madison

Decision

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Marbury had a right to receive the papers. However, the Court also said that they did not have the power to order Madison to deliver the papers. 

The Supreme Court then declared that the Constitution was the supreme law of the land. They pointed to the Supremacy Clause in Article VI of the Constitution. This means that when laws conflict with the Constitution, they must be struck down as unconstitutional.

The Court also said that it is the job of judges and Supreme Court justices to interpret laws and to decide when they are in violation of the Constitution.

Long Term Impact

Marbury v. Madison established the concept of judicial review. This means that the judicial branch has the power to decide whether executive orders and laws passed by Congress or the states conflict with the Constitution. If the court thinks that the law and the Constitution are in conflict, the law is unconstitutional and will be struck down.

Multiple Choice

When a person uses the legal process to force another person, company, organization, or the government to give them something or do something.

• Sued

• Executive Order

Multiple Choice

A person appointed by the president to deal with foreign affairs and lead the Department of State.

• Secretary of State

• Secretary of Education