In 1801, John Adams sought to approve forty-two new Federalist judges titled “midnight appointees” into the Supreme Court before leaving office. All of the commissions were approved by the Secretary of State John Marshall. Unfortunately, many of the commissions didn’t arrive by midnight, such as the one by William Marbury. Immediately upon assuming office, Thomas Jefferson ordered his new Secretary of State, James Madison, to hold up all commissions which had not yet been delivered. One of these was that of William Marbury …show more content…
John Marshall responded by stating that if congressional acts conflict with the Constitution, then they are now law, because the judiciary's responsibility is to uphold the Constitution. Marshall also stated that the court may decide which law applies to a given case. As a result, Marbury never did receive his job. Jefferson and Madison denied Marbury’s commission because the “midnight judges” were appointed by Adams, a mere few hours before Jefferson’s inauguration. In 1802, the Judiciary Act was repealed, and the judicial branch gained more legislative power with the establishment of judicial