Marbury v. Madison
Citation: 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (U.S. Supreme Court, 1803)
Facts
At the close of John Adams’s presidency, Secretary of State John Marshall (who was also the incoming Chief Justice) failed to deliver judicial commissions before Jefferson took office. William Marbury, one of the undelivered appointees, petitioned the Supreme Court directly for a writ of mandamus under the Judiciary Act of 1789 to compel Secretary of State James Madison to deliver his commission.
Issue
Does the Supreme Court have the power to review acts of Congress and declare them unconstitutional?
Holding
Chief Justice Marshall held that Marbury had a right to his commission but that the Supreme Court lacked original jurisdiction to issue the writ because the relevant provision of the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutionally expanded the Court’s original jurisdiction beyond what Article III permits — and the Court struck down that provision.
Rule
It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is. A legislative act contrary to the Constitution is void, and courts have the authority and obligation to refuse to apply it.
Significance
Marbury is the foundational case for judicial review — the power of federal courts to invalidate legislation inconsistent with the Constitution. Though Marshall ruled against Marbury on the merits, he cleverly seized the occasion to assert judicial supremacy over constitutional interpretation, a power nowhere explicitly granted in the Constitution. It remains the single most important structural decision in American constitutional law.