The Effects Of The Marbury Vs Madison Case On The Rights

837 Words4 Pages

The Effects of the Marbury vs. Madison Case on the Rights of Americans
The Marbury vs. Madison case had a monumental effect on the government. It was the first United States Supreme Court case where the decision was made (by the US Supreme Court) to declare a law unconstitutional. The reason for the suit occurred on President John Adams’ last night of presidency, commonly called his “midnight appointment,” in which he appointed a Federalist land speculator from Maryland named William Marbury into the office of justice of the peace in Washington D.C.. When James Madison took his office as secretary of state, Marbury’s letter of appointment remained undelivered and Thomas Jefferson had him retain it. Outraged by this, Marbury sued Madison in …show more content…

Madison is important to our nation’s history and the rights of the American people because the case gave the judicial branch the power of judicial review to protect the rights of Americans from unconstitutional laws and legislations. The Marbury vs. Madison case is considered by many to be one of the most significant cases in the history of our nation’s government because of this reason. I personally believe that this is one of the most significant events that contributed to the rights of American citizens because it provides security for these rights in the form of judicial review. The system of checks and balances in our government prevents one branch from having too much power. This branch in the checks and balances system, the judicial branch, scrutinizes the decisions made by the other two branches on order to maintain constitutionality in the government. This power of judicial review, given to the legislative branch, is an important power in preserving the rights of American citizens and the Marbury vs. Madison case is the first case in which this power was used. The Marbury vs. Madison case played a key role in the protection of the individual rights of Americans and it is an incredibly important case to Americans because of these

Open Document