Power Of Judicial Review

Although the power of judicial review is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, the Supreme Court had acquired it through landmark cases and the founding fathers original intent. The landmark case that gave them the power of judicial review is the case Marbury v. Madison. In this case, President John Adams appointed William Marbury to be a justice of the peace along with forty-one others days before his presidency expired. The commissions were not sent out before the end of his presidency, so when Thomas Jefferson came into office, he did not honor the commissions. When Marbury found out he went to the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to get the secretary of state, James Madison, to deliver the commissions. The Supreme Court did …show more content…
The justices that interpret the constitution as fixed documents think, “The Constitution should be interpreted the way that the authors originally intended it to be” (B.A. Robinson). Also in the case of Minnesota v. Carter (1998) Justice Antonin Scalia stated: “Simply read the Fourth Amendment. It says, ‘[t]he right of the people to be secure in their . . . houses . . . against unreasonable searches and seizures’” (Wise County on the Web). Living documents are another way the justices interpret the Constitution, and in the case of Minnesota v. Carter, Justice Antonin Scalia decided the outcome because he was stating the fourth amendment and what it meant when it was originally written. Due to the society changing there are people that are called broad constructionists that interpret the Constitution as a living document. According to B.A. Robinson, the justices that interpret the Constitution as a living document think: “The meaning of the Constitution is viewed as continually evolving to meet the cultures changing beliefs, practices, and knowledge.” In the cases of Roe v. Wade and Obergefell v. Hodges the decision was made based on the interpretation of the Constitution being a living document. The Roe v. Wade case was about making abortion legal for women in Texas, which was not specifically written in the Constitution as being legal, but since our society has changed the …show more content…
In article 3 section 1 it says “The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court” (U.S. Constitution), judicial power is the power to hear cases and interpret, enforce or nullify laws and statutes in order to render verdicts. Judicial power also extends to judicial review, which is known as the judicial branch 's biggest power. Judicial review really sums up judicial power. Because to nullify laws means to declare laws unconstitutional or not and that is what judicial review is. This is really their biggest power in the courts so that reinforces the fact that they are not too powerful. Another thing to note about the judicial branch is that it has judicial independence, meaning that it is kept away from the other two branches, making it free of pressure and influences from the other branches. Joseph Story said that “Without justice being freely, fully, and impartially administered, neither our persons, nor our rights, nor our property, can be protected” which translates to that without judicial independence, there is a possibility that the courts can become too powerful because they will be influenced by others. But with judiciary independents in place there wouldn 't be a problem with that. Another thing to look at when thinking that the judicial branch is too