Marbury v. Madison

One of the battles in Jefferson's war against the judiciary resulted in a landmark case that defined the power of the Supreme Court. Before President Adams and the Federalists left office, they approved a group of judges to serve in the federal judiciary. The appointments were completed so late in Adams' term that the documents verifying the appointments were not delivered, causing the justices to be dubbed the "midnight judges." William Marbury, one of the "midnight appointments," had not received his commission as justice of the peace in the District of Columbia when the Federalists left office. The Republicans, of course, had no intention of delivering this commission to the Federalist judge. Citing a provision in the Judiciary Act of 1789, Marbury asked the Supreme Court to order new Secretary of State, James Madison, to deliver the commission.

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Text Version

Why didn't Marbury receive his commission as justice of the peace?

John Marshall didn't have time to deliver all of the commissions, so he gave half of them to his brother. His brother didn't get around to delivering the commissions on time.

Chief Justice John Marshall faced a dilemma with Marbury's case. If he ruled in favor of Marbury, Secretary of State Madison would likely ignore the decision, thus damaging the prestige of the Court. If Marshall ruled in favor of Madison, then he would be, in effect, admitting the Supreme Court had no power over the executive branch.

Marshall came up with an ingenious solution. The Chief Justice ruled that the provision in the Judiciary Act of 1789 that gave the Supreme Court jurisdiction in this case was unconstitutional. Thus, Marshall declared that Marbury's appointment was valid, but the Court had no authority to order its delivery.

With this ruling, Marshall avoided a confrontation with the Jefferson administration, and more importantly, established the precedent of judicial review. The decision in Marbury v. Madison established the Supreme Court's power to rule upon the constitutionality of acts of Congress. Marshall's landmark decision thereby strengthened the checks and balances among the three branches of government.