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This case had its beginnings in the presidential election of1800,when Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams in his bid for reelection.Before leaving office in March 1801,however Adams and the lame-duck Federalis Congress created several new federa judgeships.To fill these new position Adams nominated,and the Senate confirmed,loyal Federalists.In addition,Adams named his outgoing secretary ofstate,John Marshall,to be the new chiefjustice of the Supreme Court.
As secretary ofstate it had been Marshalls job to deliver the commisions ofthe newly appointed judges Time ran out,however,and 17 ofthe commissions were not delivered be fore Jeffersons inauguration.The new president ordered his secretary of state,James Madison,not to deliver the remaining commissions.One of the disappointed nominees was William Marbury.He and three ofhis colleagues,all confirmed as justices of the peace for the District ofColumbia,decided to ask the Supreme Court to force Madison to deliver their com-missions.They relied upon Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of1789,which granted the Supreme Court the au-thority to issue writs ofmandamus court orders commanding a public of-ficial to perform an official,nondiscre-tionary duty.
The case placed Marshall in a predicament.Some suggested that he disqualify himselfbecause of his earlier involvement as secretary of state.There was also the question of the Court"s power.If Marshallwere to grant the writ,Madison (under Jeffersons orders) would be almost certain to refuse to deliver the commissions.The Supreme Court would then be powerless to enforce its order.However,ifMarshall refused
to grant the writ,Jefferson would win by default.
The decision Marshall fashioned from this seemingly impossible predicament was evidence ofsheer ge-nius.He declared Section 13 ofthe Ju-diciary Act of1789 unconstitutional because it granted original jurisdic-tion to the Supreme Court in excess of that specified in Article III ofthe Con-stitution.Thus the Courts power treview and determine the constitu-tionality ofacts ofCongress was estab-lished.This decision is rightly seen as one ofthe single most important deci-sions the Supreme Court has ever handed down.A few years later the Court also claimed the right ofjudicial review over actions ofstate legisla-tures;during Marshalls tenure it over turned more than a dozen state laws on constitutional grounds.
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