A Brief Introduction on Judicial Review in the United States Essay

Marbury v. Madison has been hailed as one of the most significant cases that the Supreme Court has ruled upon. In this paper, I will explain the origins and background in the case, discuss the major Constitutional issues it raised, and outline the major points of the courts decision. I will also explain the significance of this key decision.

Dennis Rader, known as the BTK killer, is an American serial killer (Biography.com Editors, 2015).

Marbury vs. Madison was a court case in which the principle of judicial review was established and the Supreme Court reinstated their supreme interpretation of the Constitution by putting Jackson back in his place. Jackson seemed to have forgotten this because he deemed the bank unconstitutional and vetoed

The court case of Marbury v. Madison (1803) is credited and widely believed to be the creator of the “unprecedented” concept of Judicial Review. John Marshall, the Supreme Court Justice at the time, is lionized as a pioneer of Constitutional justice, but, in the past, was never really recognized as so. What needs to be clarified is that nothing in history is truly unprecedented, and Marbury v. Madison’s modern glorification is merely a product of years of disagreements on the validity of judicial review, fueled by court cases like Eakin v. Raub; John Marshall was also never really recognized in the past as the creator of judicial review, as shown in the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford.

Judicial Review – the power of the Supreme Court to say whether the federal, state, or local law or government action goes against the Constitution.

The American concept of democracy provides that no branch of government shall be more powerful and uncontrolled than the other branches (Lutzenberger, 2012). Judicial review is the power of the courts to oversee and prevent the legislative and executive branches from becoming abusive. Through this power, the courts interpret the meaning of laws and their application. They can invalidate a law, which they deem inconsistent with the US Constitution. They can also change the application of the law when interpreting it. Although the Constitution does not explicitly mention this power, the courts infer it from the provisions on the judicial branch in the Constitution. This inference was first made in 1803 in the Marbury v Madison case. The court declared the existence of the power and that it was for the exclusive use of the courts. They use it to interpret the intents of the Constitution on legal issues submitted to them for decision (Lutzenberger).

Maryland in (1819), Gibbons vs. Ogden (1824), and Supreme Court vs. Comstock (2010) it brings in the topic of enumerated powers. For the Supreme Court each opinion differed, because one was interpreted with a “few and defined” powers that the Congress can exercise, while the majority opinion Congress has the implied power to criminalize any conduct that might interfere with an enumerated power exercise. Enumerated powers as explained before are powers that are just granted to Congress. In the end they did choose to keep the necessary and proper clause due to the fact that it met all the needs concerning our federal

-The power of the judicial review is “A court’s power to review statutes to decide if they conform to the U.S. or state constitutions”. It is important to our legal system to have the power of the judicial review as a tool to the disposal of the courts when conflicts arise within the law or constitution.

The Supreme Court often oversteps its perceived legal sovereignty when using judicial review. Article III of the Constitution solely vests the courts the “judicial power of the United States” never mentioning the power of judicial review. The judiciary’s duty, according to the law of the land, is “to interpret the laws, not scan the authority of the lawgiver” (Gibson, J.). The judiciary has not followed a strict interpretation of the constitution; rather, it has encroached on the power of the legislative branch and the sanctity of the separation of powers. If the Constitution “were to come into collision with an act of the legislature” (Gibson, J.), the Constitution would take precedent, but it is

Higher courts help to ensure that federal law carries out evenly among all states; a message of unity isn't sent when each state has its own exceptions to the law. Higher courts also look at the overall picture and the impact that the law has; the point is that federal law is the main concern, and state law doesn’t make much difference. Therefore, it is necessary for the higher courts to step in and ensure that any issues at a federal level reign the same in any court/lower judicial system.

When it comes to policymaking, the Supreme Court decides if laws are constitutional. Actions undertaken by the other branches of government recieve judgement through the power of judicial review. Ideology and judicial philosophies play an important role in judicial decision making, which in the end both informs and influences policy. Judicial decision making can be complex in ways that give certain weight toward factors dependent on the approach that justices take on the interpretation of specific laws and the Constitution.

Established in 1789, the Supreme Court was created to interpret the meaning of the Constitution and to use that interpretation to declare any actions of the Legislative or Executive Branches unconstitutional. However, the Supreme Court was capable of also acquiring more functions as evidence of the landmark case of Marbury v. Madison (1803). The case dealt with President John Adams appointing sixteen new circuit court justices for the District of Colombia. Adams appointed these justices so that his political party would have more justices than the rival party. Problematically, the appointment letters were not delivered by the end of his term. By that basis, President Thomas Jefferson annulled the appointments because he retained the right to appoint the justices during his time of jurisdiction. Consequently, this aggravated the appointed justice and therefore one of the justices named William Marbury filed a case in the Supreme Court over the commissions that they were promised (Goldstone). The Court ruled that Marbury did have a right to commission and also with it made a statement that enacted the doctrine of Judicial Review. This meant that the court had the "right to review, and possibly nullify, laws and governmental acts that violate the constitution. Judicial Review is a means of assuring that politicians and various other leaders adhere to the constitution and do not use powers granted to them by

A landmark case in United States Law and the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States,

Primarily, judicial review consists of four main components.5 The first dynamic of judicial review is that the Supreme Court can reject any federal, presidential or congressional, act or law which is deemed to be unconstitutional centred upon the judiciary’s interpretation of the United States Constitution.6 For instance, the Supreme Court can void a presidential-line item veto, i.e. the President’s ability to erase part of a bill passed by the legislature involving taxation or spending.7 In addition, the second factor of judicial review is the authority of the Supreme Court to strike down any state act (gubernatorial) or law (state legislature), which is judged as unconstitutional based, again, upon the Court’s interpretation of the United States Constitution.8 One such example of this power being exercised is when the Supreme Court annulled California’s attempt to enforce congressional term limits.9

The executive branch controls the National Guard , which act as the states’ military designed to protect their borders against all foreign and domestic enemies. Then there is the legislative branch that is comprised of representatives elected by the people of the state. This branch controls the state’s articles of impeachment, budget, initiates the tax legislations, and creates legislative laws to fix issues brought forth by the governor and/or the people. All the states, with the exception of Nebraska have a legislative branch comprised of a bicameral legislature with two chambers. These two chambers are the smaller upper house (Senate) and the larger lower house (House of Representatives), with the responsibilities of constructing state laws and fulfilling other state responsibilities such as the state budget. (State & Local Government)