Judiciary Act of 1801

From Judgepedia

The Judiciary Act of 1801, also known as the Circuit Court Act, was passed at the very end of John Adams's administration and during the second session of the Sixth Congress. Because of its last-minute nature, many of the judicial appointments became known as "midnight judges" (or sometimes, "midnight appointments"). The act became law on February 13, 1801 after passing first the House (on January 20th, 1801) and then the Senate (on February 7, 1801).

Contents 1 Accomplished 2 Controversy 2.1 Proponents 2.2 Opponents 3 Implications 4 See Also 5 External Links 6 References

Accomplished

The Act, while eventually overturned by the Jefferson administration, "considerably increased the Federal judicial establishment of the United States."^[1]

Controversy

Because the Federalists had lost the presidential election of 1800 (the election itself came down to a tie between Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson, with Jefferson the eventual electoral college winner), and were also now the legislative minority, many Republicans considered the act to be an eleventh hour retreat of the Federalist Party into the judiciary.

Proponents

Federalists

Opponents

Democratic-Republicans

Implications

See Also

Marbury et al. v. Madison

External Links

The Case of Benjamin More: A Lost Episode in the Struggle over Repeal of the Judiciary Act of 1801. Available on JSTOR

References