In the wake of this most recent and awful decision by a unelected judge to halt federal action based on their own interpretation of the constitution. Ladies and gentlemen, I present one of the greatest kerfuffles in American poltiical history, the sad and twisted Seinfeld episode that is Marbury Vs Madison
Many of you may already know that in 1803 the supreme court established the principle of "judicial review" a power not given to them by the founding fathers or outlined anywhere in the constitution, that, and I quote, "Giving American courts the power to strike down laws and statues they find violate the Constitution of the United States." but most of you dont know exactly how petty and small the circumstances that lead to this landmark decisions so lets take a jounrey shall we?
Its the year 1801 the 2 political partys are the sitting president John Adams Federalists and the incoming president Thomas Jeffersons Democratic-Reublican party, they are bitter rivals and its march of that year 1801 with 2 days left in John Adams term
2 DAYS
he appoinst SEVERAL DOZEN federalist party supporters to cicrut judge and justice of the peace postions in an attempt to frustrate the Jeffersons new administration. The outgoing senate quickly confirmed it but the secretary of state, John Marshal was unable to deliver all the new judges commissions before Adams departure and Jefferson inauguration.
So think about the situation, the president has made these appointments, the senate confirmed them, the guy who has to admister their oath and officials appoint them wasent PHYSICALLY able to do all them before the next president is in place. So the new Secretary of state is obviously ordered by Jefferson to NOT deliver those commissions, as he is president know and that is his prerogative as much as it was the previous ones right TO order it.
One of those who was going to be given a judges commision was a Maryland Businessman by the name of William Marbury, he filed a lawsuit with the supreme court asking the court to issue a writ of "mandamus" forcing the secretary of state to deliver his commision
OK, quick break, all of what you have read so far is 100%, non editorialized FACT that 99% of all historians will tell you is know to be the case, this next part gets a little murky
the official story is the supreme court saw the action of the Jefferrson government as illegal beacuse it was "improper", im not super sure, the argument is so paper thin, beacuse the lionshare of the opinion surrounds how the court found this decision gives the court the ability to review and strike down ANY piece of legislature or policy for any branch of givernment UNLIATERIALY
The reality is they just saw this as a great vessel to expand the power of the supreme court beyond what anyone orignally intented
" Examining the law Congress had passed to define Supreme Court jurisdiction over types of cases like Marbury's—Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789—the Court found that the Act had expanded the definition of the Supreme Court's jurisdiction beyond what was originally set forth in the U.S. Constitution. The Court then struck down Section 13 of the Act, announcing that American courts have the power to invalidate laws that they find to violate the Constitution—a power now known as judicial review."
basic source
The real kicker?
"In Marbury's case, however, the Court did not order Madison to comply. Because striking down the law removed any jurisdiction the Court might have had over the case, the Court could not issue the writ that Marbury had requested."
The guy who was whining about all this in the first place never even got his judgeship cause doing so would undue the precident they are trying to set of the COURTS being the one to make such a decsion.
