Marbury v. Madison Case Brief

Marbury v. Madison 5 U.S. 137 (S.Ct. 1803) Facts:<Tab/>President Adams appointed William Marbury to the position of justice of the peace in 1801. However, Marbury failed to receive his commission before the end of the Adams Administration. The new Jefferson administration had ordered the secretary of state (James Madison) not to deliver Marbury's commission. By the Judiciary Act of 1789, Marbury sued Madison in the Supreme Court seeking a writ of mandamus …

…place the doctrine of judicial review. This gives the Supreme Court the authority to declare statutes unconstitutional. Thus, legislature can not pass laws contradictory to the constitution. Because it is the Supreme Court's role to interpret laws and resolve conflicts between them, the Supreme Court must have the power to interpret the Constitution and decide if a law passed conflicts with it. Marshall exercised a great deal of constitutional logic when exercising the judicial review.