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Marbury v. Madison is perhaps the most imperative case in the history of America’s Supreme Court history. Its importance lies in the fact that it was the first ever case in Supreme Court which applied the Judicial Review principle i.e. the authority of federal courts to annulled any Congressional in disagreement with the Constitution. This decision was written by Chief Justice John Marshall in 1803 and proved to contribute greatly in formulating the Supreme Court as a disconnected governmental branch at the same level as Congress and the executive. According to the supporters of judicial review, the decision by Chief Justice John Marshall in Marbury is an authentic source that encourages the idea of the Supreme Court to have ultimate say on the meanings of Constitution (McBride, 2006).
William Marbury was made the justice of the peace by President John Adams in the District of Columbia. After the failure of the new management to deliver the commission, the Secretary of State, James Madison was litigated by Marbury. However, according to Chief Justice John Marshall, though Marbury was not restricted by the commission, the law was not compatible with the Constitution as it granted Supreme Court the power that was completely denied by Article 3 contained in it (Clinton, 1989).
Thus, it can be said that the mentioned case is the most historically significant opinion by the Supreme Court as “it secured the Court’s power of judicial review—its ability to uphold or deny the constitutionality of congressional or executive actions—and established the judiciary as an independent, co-equal branch of the federal government” (as qtd. in “The Supreme Court’s First Great Case”).
References
Clinton, R. L. (1989). Marbury V. Madison and Judicial Review. Kansas: University Press of Kansas. Print.
McBride, A. (2006). Marbury v. Madison (1803). PBS. Retrieved April 17, 2013, from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/democracy/landmark_marbury.html
The Supreme Court’s First Great Case. (n.d.). American Bar. Retrieved April 16, 2013, from http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/publiced/lawday/marbury.authcheckdam.pdf
