Marbury v. Madison essays

Marbury v. Madison essays Marbury v. Madison,5 U.S.137 (1801): The Decision of Powers The Federalists carried the majority of the power in the 1800 election, both in the Congress and the election of John Adams as President. The following election, it became apparent that the Federalists would lose control of the Presidency and thus the majority of Congress. Before Adams lost his position as President to Thomas Jefferson, he made an attempt to control Congress by passing the Judiciary Act of 1801. This Act created new courts in the District of Columbia so that Adams could fill the courts with Federalists, which he continued to do up until the last hour of his Presidency. Some of the commissions were not delivered before Adams vacated his office. One of which was meant for William Marbury appointing him to a circuit court in Washington D.C. The new Secretary of State, James Madison refused to hand over Marburys commission as well as a few others. Marbury filed a suit against Madison seeking a writ of mandamus forcing Madison to hand over the commission. The case was brought directly before the Supreme Court. While each court had specific delegated powers, it was unclear as to what process would be used if one of the branches overstepped the guidelines set forth in the Constitution. The Supreme Court had to deal with three separate Constitutional issues in this case. One, Did Marbury have the right to the commission he was demanding? Two, If he did have a right to the commission, was there a way to remedy the violation of his right to the commission? And three, if it was found he did in fact have the right to the commission, how would the court go about granting the commission and therefore reversing the violation which had been committed against Marbury? The Supreme Court, lead by Justice Marshall, decided that since Marbury had been appointed to the circuit and his appointment was approved by the Senate ...