Background
Summary and Questions • •
•
Thomas
Jefferson, a member of the Republican Party, won the election
of 1800. The outgoing President, John Adams, proceeded to
rapidly appoint 58 members of his own party to fill government
posts created by Congress.
It
was the responsibility of the Secretary of State, John Marshall,
to "deliver the commissions," finish the paperwork,
and give it to each of the newly appointed judges. Although
Marshall signed and sealed all of the commissions, he failed
to deliver 17 of them to the respective appointees. Marshall
assumed that his successor would finish the job, but when
Jefferson became President, he told his new Secretary of
State, James Madison, not to deliver some of the commissions,
because he did not want members of the opposing political
party to take office. Those individuals couldn't take office
until they actually had their commissions in hand.
William
Marbury, whom Adams had appointed as justice of the peace
of the District of Columbia, was one of these last-minute
appointees who did not receive his commission. Marbury sued
James Madison and asked the Supreme Court of the United
States to issue a writ of mandamus, a court order
that requires an official to perform or refrain from performing
a certain duty. In this case, the writ would have ordered
Madison to deliver the commission.
Marbury
argued that he was entitled to his commission and that the
Judiciary Act of 1789 gave the Supreme Court of the United
States original jurisdiction to issue a writ of mandamus.
Madison disagreed. When the case came before the Court,
John Marshall — the person who had failed to deliver the commission
in the first place — was the new Chief Justice. If this situation
were to arise today, Marshall would likely disqualify himself
because of a conflict of interest.
Questions to Consider:
- Who
was Marshall likely to side with, Marbury or Madison?
Why?
- If
the Court decided that Marbury was entitled to the commission,
how could it be sure that the executive branch would deliver
it? Does the Court have the power to force compliance?
What would happen if the Court issued the writ, but the
executive branch refused to comply?
- According
to Article 3, Section 2 of the Constitution, in what types
of cases does the Supreme Court of the United States have
original jurisdiction? Does the Congress have the authority
to alter the Court's jurisdiction?
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