Foundational Documents

Marbury v Madison

• Adams administration in 1801 passed a Judiciary Act appointing 58 new judges

• This act built off of another Judiciary Act passed in 1789

• Marbury and several other Midnight Judges did not receive their commissions and thus were unable to become judges

• Marbury sued James Madison to try to evoke a writ of mandamus (get SCOTUS to force delivery of his commission)

• SCOTUS ruled that James Madison not delivering commissions was illegal

• also ruled that the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional

• said Congress cannot simply modify the Constitution’s laws like that cause of the Supremacy Clause

• established judicial review

  ---

Federalist No 78

• As long as federal judges act in a proper manner, they can serve for life

• Lifetime appointments are vital to keeping the judiciary independent of other branches by reducing the other branches’ influence over the judges once appointed

• Keeps the judges from worrying about reelection and they can make unbiased decisions

• Makes the branch more efficient

• Said that the judicial branch must make sure legislation passed is unconstitutional→ suggested the idea of judicial review which was then implemented for the first time in Marbury v Madison