The Supreme Court, under Article 3 of the constitution, only had original jurisdiction over certain cases. It was after the prominent Marbury vs Madison case that they gave themselves the power of Judicial Review (Judicial Process, Page 415). Judicial Review is the power granted by the Supreme Court itself to review and overturn any acts of Congress, and to declare laws unconstitutional. This gives the Supreme Court a certain degree of power over states and Congress and also gives them the power to have the final say on the interpretation of the Constitution. I believe that their authority is advantageous but at the same time, although a law may be nullified, they don’t necessarily have the power to ensure that it is carried out.
The Supreme …show more content…
On Adams’ last day of office, he decided to appoint 42 justices of peace and 16 circuit court judges. The commissions were signed by John Adams during his presidency and signed by the acting secretary of state John Marshall. However, these commissions were never delivered and when President Jefferson took office, he refused to give them their roles and told James Madison (his secretary of state at the time) not to deliver them. This was when William Marbury, who was one of the intended justices, decided to file a case to the Supreme Court and obtain a “writ of mandamus”. A writ of mandamus is “an order from a court to an inferior government official ordering the government official to properly fulfill their official duties or correct an abuse of discretion” (Cornell University Legal Information Institute). Chief Justice John Marshall agreed that Marbury was entitled to his commission but they denied the petition to obtain a writ of mandamus, arguing that the Constitution legally denied the Supreme Court from giving it to them and that William Marbury was in fact in the wrong …show more content…
The Judiciary act of 1789 stated that the appointment could be given but when it was evaluated under judicial review, they determined that Section 13 of the Judicial Act had a conflict with Article 3 Section 2 of the US Constitution and thus it was considered null and void. This is when the Supreme Court decided that they would have the power to invalidate certain laws.
Judicial Review is just one of the ways in which power is equally balanced out within the government system. It involves the separation of power, which is more commonly known as “Checks and Balances”. This aspect ensures that there isn’t a particular branch of government that is more powerful than the other.
I believe that the Supreme Court giving themselves the power of Judicial Review is beneficial to the government and the legal system. This power ensures that one branch does not have all the say in reasoning of a law, which in turn can help society move forward. For example, in the Brown vs Board of Education case, the US Supreme Court changed history by abolishing the idea of “Separate but Equal”. Although for a long time, racial segregation was legal, they stated that the law violated an individual’s 14th Amendment Right of the Equal Protection Clause and declared it unconstitutional. If the Supreme Court did not have the power of Judicial Review, we might still be living in a world that believed that
The Supreme …show more content…
On Adams’ last day of office, he decided to appoint 42 justices of peace and 16 circuit court judges. The commissions were signed by John Adams during his presidency and signed by the acting secretary of state John Marshall. However, these commissions were never delivered and when President Jefferson took office, he refused to give them their roles and told James Madison (his secretary of state at the time) not to deliver them. This was when William Marbury, who was one of the intended justices, decided to file a case to the Supreme Court and obtain a “writ of mandamus”. A writ of mandamus is “an order from a court to an inferior government official ordering the government official to properly fulfill their official duties or correct an abuse of discretion” (Cornell University Legal Information Institute). Chief Justice John Marshall agreed that Marbury was entitled to his commission but they denied the petition to obtain a writ of mandamus, arguing that the Constitution legally denied the Supreme Court from giving it to them and that William Marbury was in fact in the wrong …show more content…
The Judiciary act of 1789 stated that the appointment could be given but when it was evaluated under judicial review, they determined that Section 13 of the Judicial Act had a conflict with Article 3 Section 2 of the US Constitution and thus it was considered null and void. This is when the Supreme Court decided that they would have the power to invalidate certain laws.
Judicial Review is just one of the ways in which power is equally balanced out within the government system. It involves the separation of power, which is more commonly known as “Checks and Balances”. This aspect ensures that there isn’t a particular branch of government that is more powerful than the other.
I believe that the Supreme Court giving themselves the power of Judicial Review is beneficial to the government and the legal system. This power ensures that one branch does not have all the say in reasoning of a law, which in turn can help society move forward. For example, in the Brown vs Board of Education case, the US Supreme Court changed history by abolishing the idea of “Separate but Equal”. Although for a long time, racial segregation was legal, they stated that the law violated an individual’s 14th Amendment Right of the Equal Protection Clause and declared it unconstitutional. If the Supreme Court did not have the power of Judicial Review, we might still be living in a world that believed that