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Judicial Review Of Alexander Hamilton

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Ours is, ostensibly, a nation of laws. Few concepts in American Law are as generally esteemed as the process of judicial review. The layperson, when pressed, will likely refer to judicial review as a key purpose of the American judiciary, a fundamental check in the American system of government. However, it does not take astute observation to note that any direct reference to the process formally known as judicial review is conspicuously absent in the text of the Constitution. How is it then that the Judiciary, the branch Alexander Hamilton expressly referred to as the least dangerous of three provided arms of Federal government, is in a position to strike laws passed by Congress? Moreover, should the Courts be able to effectively dictate …show more content…

From the text of the Constitution itself, we can glean that the Courts were fully intended to speak on individual cases that arose from Federal law or the jurisdiction discussed in Article III. In order for the Courts to fulfill this function, they must interpret the law before them and ensure that it is in compliance with the Constitution and properly enacted laws. However, it does not appear that this creates a singular justification for the review of Acts of Congress, only the acts of states and lower courts. The next evolution of judicial review draws largely on the ambiguity created by two seemingly innocuous concepts found in Article III, the issues of law and equity. In expanding judicial review, the Courts have asserted their role beyond just the basic interpretation of laws, but moved into the issues of equity, which require an interpretation of the spirt of the law, and a judicial construction based on this spirit. The justness of this expansion, and whether it is needed at all, is the core of the debate over the role of the …show more content…

The Constitution of 1787 creates the Judiciary with the sole intention that it will faithfully interpret and apply the laws of the United States. The reach of the Supreme Court is wide and powerful, and it continues to serve its constitutional purpose of ensuring the states and lower courts act in a manner that is in compliance with the Supreme Law of the Land. However, the propriety of allowing a panel of nine elected justices to eviscerate the actions of an elected legislature and executive is that still troubles many. What Hamilton viewed as a bulwark of a limited government can just as easily be described as an American oligarchy. This simple dichotomy illustrates one of the most fundamental conflicts in any discussion of American

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