How did the Marbury v. Madison decision enhance the system of checks and balances established through the Constitution?

Answer 1

In Marbury vs Madison it was ruled that "It is emphatically the province and duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is."

This made laws subject to judicial review. And was a balance on the power of Congress to make laws. It also put executive orders under such review, and was a balance on the President's ability to decree such orders.

Answer 2

In Marbury vs Madison it was ruled that "It is emphatically the province and duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is."

This made laws subject to judicial review. And was a balance on the power of Congress to make laws. It also put executive orders under such review, and was a balance on the President's ability to decree such orders.

Answer 3

The decision in Marbury helped establish the Judicial branch, lead by the Supreme Court, as co-equal with the Legislative and Executive branches.

It validated Article III of the US Constitution, which granted the Supreme Court the highest level of judicial power in the United States, and delineated which types of cases were properly part of the Court's appellate jurisdiction, and which part of its original jurisdiction.

Marshall's interpretation of Article III was that, as an independent branch of the tripartite federal government, part of the Court's responsibility was judicial review, which allows the Supreme Court to analyze legislation and nullify any laws they determine to be unconstitutional.

In the case of Marbury v. Madison, (1803), the Marshall Court declared Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional because Congress had overreached their authority by attempting to make the Court responsible for all writs of mandamus. This represented the first time the Supreme Court had declared an Act of Congress unconstitutional. Marshall determined Marbury fell under its appellate jurisdiction, and that the case should be heard in the lower courts.

The doctrine of judicial review enabled the Court to check power of the Legislative and Executive branches by preventing them from imposing legislation that violated citizens' constitutional rights.

Case Citation:

Marbury v. Madison, 5 US 137 (1803)