The Supreme Court Of The United States

The overall influence of the Supreme Court under John Marshall can be understood through the five main court cases over which he presided; Marbury v. Madison (1803), Fletcher v. Peck (1810), Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819), McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), and Gibbons v. Ogden (1824). The first significant case Marshall was faced with was Marbury v. Madison in 1803. In the last few days of his presidency, John Adams appointed members of the Federalist Party to the new offices he created within the judicial branch. When Thomas Jefferson took office he told James Madison, his secretary of state, not to deliver the unsent commissions to some of the “midnight appointments”, one of who was William Marbury. He appealed to the Supreme Court, asking for a court order that would require Madison to send out the commission, which was part of his job. The Judiciary Act of 1789 supported Marbury’s demands because it authorized the Supreme Court to order

The Constitution pays a massive role in court decisions both in the federal and state cases. If the State Supreme Court cannot come to a decision on a case, the case will be turned over to the Supreme Court who has the final authority in interpreting the meaning of the Constitution in any case. The courts also have the power of judicial review—to declare a law unconstitutional. Due to the decision of Chief Justice John Marshall the Supreme Court has this power from the case of Marbury v. Madison in 1801. The case Marbury v. Madison took place during the election of 1800 when Thomas Jefferson defeated President John Adams, but the new administration did not take office until March of 1801. When the new administration took office James Madison (Secretary of State) discovered that some commissions were not delivered. One of the people whose commission had not been received

There was a long lame duck period between the November election and the inauguration of a new president, and the Congress that met in December 1800 was the old Congress. The Federalist controlled Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1801, which created circuit courts of appeal, and relieved the justices of the Supreme Court of their obligation to travel around the country to hear cases. It also increased the jurisdiction of the federal courts. Adams immediately appointed several new judges and the Senate confirmed the 16 new judges to these courts, all Federalists. James Madison was one of the 42 Justices of the Peace that were also created with the Judiciary Act of 1801. These Justices served the Washington and Virginia areas. It is also important to know that all of these Justices were also Federalists. Adams was trying to stack the Judiciary with the outgoing Federalist Party members. Many of these Justices were qualified to hold these jobs however.

Marshall complained that the Constitution is the “supreme law of the land” and that the Supreme Court ultimately has the final say so when it comes to evaluating the meaning of the Constitution. Marshall states, “ lt is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.” To present Marshall’s initial plea at hand, Marshall argues that the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional. In Marshall 's perspective, Congress could not present the Supreme Court with the power to issue an order granting Marbury his commission. Only the Constitution could do so, and the document said nothing about the Supreme Court having the power to issue such an order. Thus, the Supreme Court could not force Jefferson and Madison to appoint Marbury, because it did not have the power to do so.

The life of every American citizen, whether they realize it or not, is influenced by one entity--the United States Supreme Court. This part of government ensures that the freedoms of the American people are protected by checking the laws that are passed by Congress and the actions taken by the President. While the judicial branch may have developed later than its counterparts, many of the powers the Supreme Court exercises required years of deliberation to perfect. In the early years of the Supreme Court, one man’s judgement influenced the powers of the court systems for years to come. John Marshall was the chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835, and as the only lasting Federalist influence in a newly Democratic-Republican

The parties are William Marbury and James Madison. William Marbury was commissioned by president Adams as Justice of the Peace, along with many others, on the last day of office. The commission had to be delivered to William Marbury on the same day by John Marshall, the Secretary of State, but that did not happen. The following day Thomas Jefferson, who was from the opposing party, became president and he appointed a new Secretary of State, James Madison. President Jefferson declared the commissions void and they were not delivered to the persons in question including William Marbury, who therefore was not appointed Justice of the Peace as he was promised. William Marbury went to the Supreme Court to ask for a writ of mandamus in order to force the new Secretary of State, James Madison, to deliver the commissions. On 24 February 1803 Chief Justice John Marshall, former Secretary of State during president Adams’ term of office, wrote the Court’s decision.

During the last days of the John Adams Presidency he nominated William Marbury for a position for Justice of the Peace. Everything from paperwork and all the necessary procedures were set for the appointment of William Marbury. But President Adam’s secretary, John Marshall did not deliver the commission in time before Thomas Jefferson became president. During Jefferson Presidency he ordered his secretary James Madison not to deliver the commissions and those men whose commissions were not delivered ended up suing Madison.

The federal judiciary was established as a significant institution in 1801. President John Adams was leaving the office involuntarily and feared the death of the Federalist Party. He thought he could keep it going in the court system by appointing John Marshall as Chief Justice of the United States and the Judiciary Act of 1801 was another part of his plan. The law relieved the Supreme Court Justices from riding circuit and holding court away from home for the older men. It created circuit judgeships, which would be filled by Federalists. The Chief Justice appointment and the Judiciary Act made the courts a great political battleground. The Supreme Court was the main target because it was not considered a significant institution and received little attention. As Chief Justice, John Jay felt his duties so light that he became American minister to the Court of St. James?s and then to campaign successfully for governor of New York. He did not consider a second appointment to be worthwhile. Also, Oliver Ellsworth as Chief Justice had enough time to be a minister to France in 1800. It was not considered unusual for John Marshall to continue to be Secretary of State in the Adams administration for one month while he was serving as Chief Justice. (2)

President John Adams had made many federal appointments. He did this at the very end of his term. One of the appointments was William Marbury. Thomas Jefferson, refused to recognize the appointment of Marbury. The normal practice of making such appointments was to deliver a "commission," or notice, of appointment. This was normally done by the Secretary of State. Jefferson's Secretary of State at the time was James Madison. Madison refused to deliver Marbury's commission. Marbury sued Madison. This led Supreme Court to take the case. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that the Judiciary Act of 1789. This act spelled out the practice of delivering commissions for judges and justices of the peace. This was unconstitutional because it the gave

The U.S. Supreme Court is the ultimate authority in the American legal system and is the central institution that coordinates laws that affect the American society every day. The Supreme Court has issued verdicts on issues that involves the rights of citizens, including those of women, minorities, elderly, disabled, gays, young people, and many others. These changes have had both positive and adverse outcomes that ostensibly improve the status of the American people and defining the rights of lawbreakers. The Supreme Court rulings have had a profound influence on the actions of citizens and the political direction of this country.

There are many checks and balances put into place by The Constitution, but one extremely important check was not in effect until after Marbury vs. Madison in 1803. This is the power given to the Supreme Court by Chief Justice John Marshall to declare laws made by Congress unconstitutional (“John Marshall”, 2016). This check was deemed necessary by the vague eighteenth clause in Article One, Section Eight of The Constitution giving Congress the power to “make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.” The intention of this paper is to define what this clause means

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

The questions it raised were: Is Marbury entitled to the commission? Can Congress expand the power of the Supreme Court beyond what is stated in the Constitution? Does the Supreme Court have the power to issue writs of mandamus? Can the Supreme Court review acts of Congress and determine whether or not they are unconstitutional?

There are many different reasons a person can find themselves in a court as the defendant.

The incumbent president Federalist John Adams was defeat in the presidential election by Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson. The day before leaving office, President John Adams named forty-two justices of the peace and sixteen new circuit court justices for the District of Columbia. This was an attempt by the Federalists to take control of the federal judiciary before Thomas Jefferson took office. The commissions were signed by President Adams and sealed by acting Secretary of State John Marshall but they were not delivered before