Premium Essay

Madison Vs. Marbury: The Most Important Supreme Court Case

Submitted By
Words 577
Pages 3
Madison v. Marbury

The case of Madison v. Marbury has been decided and James Madison won the case because the court ruled the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional. This court case will go be an influential court case for years to come. The decision much to the dismay of Marbury who lost a lot of money. Thomas Jefferson though was very happy because the federal government did not have to pay the salary. John Marshall spoke for a unanimous court Feb, 24, 1803 saying that Madison won. This decision will send shockwaves through the federal government.

This case started when John Adams established a lot of Justices of Peace right before he left the office of president and Thomas Jefferson said to James Madison do not pay their salary. William Marbury wanted his salary so he asked the Supreme Court for a Writ of Mandamus to make sure that he got his salary. The Justices of Peace signed a document that said that they were allowed the money but they did not receive it from Thomas Jefferson. The Judge sitting on the case was Chief Justice John Marshall and with the rest of the Supreme Court judged this issue. The reason Marbury decided to take this to the Supreme Court was to get a Writ of Mandamus which was allowed under Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789. This case turned out to be one of the most important Supreme Court cases. …show more content…
One of the things that the process defined was did he deserve the salary and what was the compensation. The second was that if a writ of mandamus was the right thing to do. The third was did his rights get violated and did the law let him get compensation. The second was an important question that would have been answered first but was answered last because Marbury wanted to criticise Jefferson because he thought Jefferson was bending the law. This style Marshal would use to make all of his

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Mcculloch Vs Maryland Case Study

...Anthony Cuda HST 388 Court in Context 9/21/14 McCulloch vs. Maryland Court in Context In order to fully understand how gauge whether a Supreme Court case is impactful, it is necessary to understand the types of Supreme Court cases that make up the majority of cases. According to Hall, the Supreme Court has roughly five limited functions; these are “regime enforcement, division of labor, overcoming gridlock, blame avoidance, and legitimation.” These functions are important to understand to really classify a Supreme Court case as truly important. For most people, who do not know history very well, it can be hard to understand how a case tried over 200 years impacts their life today. In the cases succeeding Marbury V. Madison (the first case to use a process known as Judicial Review) we can see these functions being exercised and develop over time....

Words: 846 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Role and Functions of Law

...an important part of society, and ensure that the direction that particular region or area’s leader wants it to move in takes place. For example, each state within the United States operates under its own set of laws, but is at the same time, is bound to the federal laws laid out in the United States Constitution. In fact, the Constitution, can and will, take precedent over any state law. The State of New Jersey has one of the simplest court systems in the nation, with only a few basic types of courts. The court systems are the municipal courts, tax court, state superior court, an Appellate Division, and the New Jersey Supreme Court. Most citizens will come in contact with only the municipal courts, which deal with motor vehicle violations, minor criminal-type offenses, municipal ordinance offenses, and other minor offenses. The tax courts deal with exactly that, appeals of tax decisions made by County Boards of Taxation. The superior courts work with cases that involve criminal, civil, and family law cases. Typically, the superior court is called trial court, because it is the court system where trials are conducted. The appellate division is the court system that hear appeals from the tax courts and trial courts. Lastly, the New Jersey Supreme Court is the highest appellate court,, and reviews cases from all of the lower courts (New Jersey Judiciary, 2015). The court system in the State of New Jersey is vastly different when compared to the Federal court system...

Words: 950 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Love

... Your textbook may help with some of the things listed, but this exam is more so drawn from class lectures and power point presentations. Embargo of 1807-Britian and France imposed trade restriction in order to weaken each other’s economies. Resulting in testing the Americas Neutrality and hurting their trading. Jefferson passed this document restricting neutral trade to the U.S. docs Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists (1780). Stronger central government, state representation from states each 2 representatives, no Bill of Rights, Articles of Confederation useless, because states had more power, wanted larger public, and they believed in large farming and industrialization,.. antif federalist, wanted state rights, wanted add the House of Represeantives, Bill of Rights, they thought the aritcles needed to be ratified not taken away completely, smaller public, believed Americas future is small farming Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans (1790s) – Hamiltonians (known as federalist party) vs. the Jeffersonians (Democratic Party) Differences between Federalist stances (1780s) vs. Federalist Party stances (1790s)- Federalist of 1780-Stronger central government, state representation from states each 2 representatives, no Bill of Rights, Articles of Confederation useless, because states had more power, wanted larger public, and they believed in large farming and industrialization.. Federalist Party Stances of (1790)- Led by Alexander Hamilton strong central government led by...

Words: 2158 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

14th Amendment Advantages

...pointing at potential suspects and the detectives are looking for witnesses. Without any evidence, the police feel it may help their investigation if they search every ones house for any clues. Some people were permissible and some were not. Based on an interview, the police think they have found the man who committed the crime. The police would decide barge into his home and raid searching for clues to crack the case. Unfortunately, they didn’t find anything connecting to the crime. But the man still held a permit of a concealed weapon. The man homes they raided was upset and felt his fourth amendment right had been violated. The Supreme Court is very rational room with capable justices that base their verdict’s off of the constitution. Using the balancing test, I would suggest the Supreme Court would rule this in favor of the man how’s fourth amendment right was violated. Based on previous cases such as Mapp vs. Ohio, when they heard off a tip that Virgil Ogletree as well as her boyfriend Edward Keeling the possible perpetrators will be found at Dollree Mapp’s home. In this case, three officers had asked to enter but her lawyer had found this to violate her fourth amendment right and refused to allow them in without a warrant. One officer had remained and looked at the hose for possible suspicion. Three hours later four cop cars had come and knocked on her door. When no one answered they found barged their way in. They found what they were looking for as well as a...

Words: 1620 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Can the Power of the Supreme Court Be Justified in a Democracy

...that the power of the Supreme Court cannot be justified in a democracy. The Supreme Court: Functions of judiciaries; judicial independence. Membership, appointment process and issues of judicial review; accountability and democratic control. Theories of judicial activism and restraint. The supreme Court is the head of the judicial part of Government in the USA, it acts as an appellant court which can also on occasion deal with ambassadorial and diplomat cases. It is separate from the other 2 branches of government in order to remain independent and provides a powerful check on those branches. However it has been criticised by being called democratically lacking. The members have a significant amount of power however are unelected and unable to be dismissed. The most significant issue with the Supreme Court’s power is its (lack of) accountability, this is largely caused by the appointment process. The Supreme court has had significant influence over public legislation since the Marbury vs Madison case of 1803 and increasingly so since Chief Justice Warren’s court who made controversial decisions regarding segregation (Brown vs Topeka) and Abortion (Roe vs Wade). This has continued to more recent court cases such as the 2012 Windsor vs USA which recognised gay marriage striking down DOMA (the 1996 Defence of Marriage Act) which stated that only heterosexual marriage would be federally recognised. This has led to the appointment process of Supreme Justices to come under...

Words: 1369 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Homer Plessy Argumentative Essay

...What Plessy decided to do was he was going to sit on the “white only” section of the train, despite the fact that he knew he could not based on his racial identity and what society classifies him. Not long after, Plessy was arrested for refusing to leave the “white only” section on the the train. Plessy eventually had his case appealed to the supreme court, arguing that Louisiana Law was in violation of the 14th amendment, which guaranteed citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws to all peoples, forbidding any state to deny a person of any basic rights, such as the ones seen in the Declaration of Independence. Plessy Vs. Ferguson is shaped by precedents demonstrated in the court system that all men have the freedom and right to appeal to the supreme court, if they feel they have been denied any of their constitutional rights or if they feel that government is acting unconstitutional. This precedent is seen in other cases such as Marbury Vs. Madison, which depicts the idea that one can defend their rights if government has violated anything stated in the constitution or the amendments, as well as if one feels that any law is unconstitutional. This case lead to the development of...

Words: 839 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Do You Need Help?

...the Supreme Court. Jina’s Response:      The Judicial Branch was called "the least dangerous branch" by Alexander Hamilton because they could not be influenced by one side or another, simply have the job of give the "right and necessary" decision on the cases. They can not or will  force, their decision will be for judgement. Thus, it's roles and power would be limited.      Although, the power is for judgement, they are truly slow. When a case is chosen, it pass months and more months after the decision can be reached, and for me, if they are there for judgement, why the wait?; I understand, the cases are several, but taking months for a decision is just "ridiculous" for me.       The opinions about the power they have are really disperse. Some think the Judicial Branch has not power at all, as Alexander Hamilton once said, just for judgement, because the Congress has control over almost all. But many others think that the Judicial Branch it is the most dominant branch of the government, because its power influence each individual of this Nation.      I agree, in part, the Judicial Branch has become very powerful, but surely is not the most powerful. Other branches of the government have clearly more power and control of many issues of the society. For example the Executive Branch or the Congress. They can pass "unfair" laws, but the Executive Branch will enforce them. The power of the Judicial Branch too far, with the 1803 case of Marbury Vs. Madison. In this case, was...

Words: 507 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Ap U.S History

...Brooke Baker A.P US History Court Cases I. Marbury v. Madison a) Issue: i) Judicial v. Executive and Congressional Power ii) Judicial review/separation of powers b) Background: i) 1803 ii) In his last few hours in office, President John Adams made a series of “midnight appointments” to fill as many government posts as possible with Federalists. One of these appointments was William Marbury as a federal justice of the peace. However, Thomas Jefferson took over as President before the appointment was officially given to Marbury. Jefferson, a Republican, instructed Secretary of State James Madison to not deliver the appointment. Marbury sued Madison to get the appointment he felt he deserved. He asked the Court to issue a writ of mandamus, requiring Madison to deliver the appointment. The Judiciary Act, passed by Congress in 1789, permitted the Supreme Court of the United States to issue such a writ iii) Supreme Court must decide constitutionality of Judiciary Act c) Decision: i) John Marshall declares Judiciary Act unconstitutional ii) The Supreme Court has the right of judiciary review d) Significance: i) Impact of Marshall Court ii) Strengthened the judiciary in relation to other branches of government iii) Allows Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution and declare laws unconstitutional II. McCulloch v. Maryland a) Issue: i) Supremacy v. State Rights ...

Words: 5543 - Pages: 23

Premium Essay

Evaluate the Claim That the U.S Supreme Court Is an Imperial Judiciary

...claim that the U.S Supreme Court is an Imperial Judiciary The Founding Fathers established the Federal Supreme Court in Article III of the Constitution as the ultimate judicial power, claiming “The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court”. Despite being put into power in 1789, The debate still exists as to how powerful the Supreme Court truly is, some say it is an imperial power with too much influence over U.S Politics, whilst others argue against this claim stating the Supreme Court is imperilled in many respects. The two main claims that the Supreme Court is still powerful lies in their power of Judicial Review and the fact they have a security of tenure, meaning they cannot be fired and are not subject to elections like other government officials, meaning they can act as they wish and with great freedom. Justices are not completely free to exercise power as they wish, they are of course bound by the constitution (subject to interpretation) and have a responsibility to interpret it correctly. Furthermore, they can be subject to impeachment by the Senate if they act in a manner not fitting that of the highest lawmakers in the land. The United States government is made up of 3 supposedly co-equal branches of Government, a system of checks and balances designed to make the perfect democratic system. However, with the surge of partisanship on the hill coupled with a progressive Executive branch addressing some of Americas most contentious issues...

Words: 1830 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Dred Scott V. Sandford Case Analysis

...Today, the United States Supreme Court is regularly lambasted for many of the decisions it makes, and the phrase “worst decision in history” is regularly thrown around. The polarized political climate in the United States combined with a twenty four hour media cycle helps push this perspective, but in reality the vast majority of Supreme Court decisions are not nearly as good or bad as the public wants to believe. Of course, there are exceptions, especially historical ones. The landmark 1857 case of Dred Scott vs. Sandford is an outstanding example of a Supreme Court decision that was both as horrible as it seems, as well as impactful for a large amount of people in the United States, directly. This paper will analyze the Dred Scott decision,...

Words: 2011 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

The Executive Branch

...government works, the executive branch has become more and more powerful over the years. In this essay, I will discuss the framers intended relationship between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches and I will argue how the executive branch wields the most power among the three branches of government. Our system of government was set up to have three branches of government: the executive branch which executes the laws, the legislative branch which creates the laws and finally the judicial branch which interprets the laws. The constitution states their powers and their checks on one another so that no branch would have more power than the other two, because of this, the framers of the Constitution set up a system of checks and balances. Under this system, each branch has the ability to stop the other two branches from gaining too much power. For example, one way the executive branch/president is able to check the legislative branch/Congress is through the presidential veto. The president can veto any bill that has been passed by Congress and stop that bill from becoming law. The judicial branch/Supreme Court has the ability to check the president and Congress through judicial review. With this power, the Supreme Court can declare a law that has been passed by Congress and signed by the president...

Words: 1333 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Why Did President Jefferson Push The Embargo Act Through Congress?

...merchants for deserters who easily blended in since most of the Americans were of English descent. Because determining whether someone was either a British subject or an American citizen was a rather difficult task, a number of American sailors were captured by accident. This policy angered many Americans at the time because Great Britain did not return the Americans they had stolen since they didn’t care who they were...

Words: 708 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Pols 102

...Chapter 1 British Policy Incites a Rebellion - 1756-1763, Britain and France were in the Seven Years’ War, a conflict that had involved all major European powers. - Sugar Act (1764)- Including increase on taxes on imported goods such as molasses, coffee, and textiles. Monarchy: One person in charge. Very efficient, poor decisions. Oligarchy: Small group of people in charge. Can take form of a dictatorship. Nazi, Soviet Union (A junta: in charge of military small groups can also be a small group of religious leaders) Democracy: Power lies in the hand of the people. Basically a representative democracy, meaning we chose the people to make decisions. The dominant form of government today. Totalitarianism: The government was total control. Purpose is to implement the “utopian” society. Neg. side: They have to control everything, takes up a lot of resources. Gov. is inflexible, which leads to destruction of government. Authoritarianism: They don’t control everything, just enough. There isn’t a utopian vision. They control the military and the police. Only what they need to control. China is a midway point between Totalitarianism and Authoritarianism. Constitutionalism: A limited form of government. Powers are usually spelled out in a constitution that the government is obligated to follow. They are either being a democracy/monarchy. U.S is a democracy and England is a monarch. Hobbes: Claimed that we lived in a state of nature and not a good place to be. He believed were...

Words: 1972 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Foundation Outline (Prof. William Ewald)

...Rosillo Pasquale Siciliani Paul Lanois Gloria M. Gasso Kamel Ait El Hadj Yuanyuan Zheng Ana L. Marquez Pumthan Chaichantipyuth Wenzhen Dai Penn Law Summer 2006 I.  Introduction and Historical Background    A. What the course will cover?      This  is  not  an  introductory  course.    You  are  all  lawyers;  I  shall  assume  a  good  deal  of  professional  expertise,  and  that  many  of  you  already  have  a  body  of  knowledge  about  American  law.    The task: prepare you for the coming year, give you the basic grounding that you will need  for the courses you are going to start taking in September.  For this, you need two things:    ♥ A  great  deal  of  basic  factual  information  about  how  the  courts  and  the  legal  system  function, and about basic legal concepts (and legal vocabulary);     ♥ But  more  importantly:  background  information  about  some  of  the  critical  ways in which  the American legal system is unique, and differs from legal systems elsewhere in the  world.  This is hard: often you will find that your professors or fellow‐students will make  assumptions  or  presuppose  certain  ways  of  doing  things  that  aren’t  explained  in  class.    A  large goal of this course is to explain those assumptions, and make them explicit.       >> UNIQUENESS OF AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEMS    Briefly, there are four aspects of the American legal system that set it apart:    1) Inherited  common  law,  existing  out ...

Words: 43059 - Pages: 173

Premium Essay

Pols 1336 Notes

...Week 1 * Do you trust the government to do the right things most of the time? It’s all really based on you opinion * a 2000 study of undergraduates showed that 64% did not trust the government Why do we care if people are turning out to vote? * Voter turnout is a sign of political efficacy as well as engagement * People who are engaged are more informed, more likely to communicate with their representatives, more likely to advocate for their interests, and hold public officials accountable for their actions. Political culture * The people’s collective beliefs and attitudes about government and political processes * What is it that binds us together as Americans? * Our political ideologies * Our political values – liberty, capitalism, equality, consent of the governed, individualism Ideology * Political ideology is an integrated system of ideas or beliefs about political values in general and the role of the government in particular * Ideology provides a framework for thinking about politics and policy preferences Ideologies * Modern liberalism is associated with ideas of liberty and political equality: * Tend to favor chance in social, political and economic realms to better protect individuals and produce equality What is the constitution? * Fundamental principles of a government and the basic structures and procedures Two US Constitutions * Articles of confederation ( 1781-1789) * Constitution of...

Words: 2355 - Pages: 10