Marbury v. Madison: what was the impact of this case on the American judicial system? Essay sample

The case of William Marbury versus James Madison became the critical point in the US judiciary system. In brief, it granted the Supreme Court with the authority to limit the power of Congress by declaring their legislation unconstitutional. The Supreme Court judges stuck to what is said in the Constitutions. Thus acts that contradicted the Constitutions have been declared void. Marbury v. Madison argument began from the “midnight judges” appointed by president John Adams. The president decided to pack courts with Federalists appointees in the last days of his presidency. Once his successor Tomas Jefferson had seen these letters, he prevented them from the delivery to the appointees. That was the reason why William Marbury (appointed as a justice of the peace) filed the lawsuit against James Madison, Thomas Jefferson’s secretary of state. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Marshall, ruled that Jefferson illegally prevented Marbury from taking the post. At the same time, the Supreme Court had no power to force Jefferson to appoint Marbury as a justice of the peace. The act of Congress was in conflict with the Constitution, and the prior task of the judge was to uphold the Constitution. Marbury v. Madison argument and its resolution expressed the commitment of the United States to the rules of law in the first place, not to the random acts issued by Congress. The case enforced the ultimate ability of the courts to decide what the law is.