Marbury et al. v. Madison
From Judgepedia
Marbury v. Madison (1803) more than any other case in the first twenty years of the Supreme Court's history, set an irrefutable precedent of jurisdiction for the third, and heretofore largely ignored, branch of American democracy.
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History
Following his presidential loss in the fall of 1800 to Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson, President John Adams made a series of last minute governmental appointments, hoping to reinforce Federalist Party predominance in political office. One of these appointments went to William Marbury, who Adams appointed as a Justice of the Peace under the passaged of the Justice of the Peace Act, one of the final Acts passed by an expiring Federalist-controlled Congress. (Like the exiting Adams, a large portion of the standing Congress was Federalist, but because of the outcome of the election of 1800, the Democratic-Republicans were soon to take over control of both the White House and Congress.)
Implications
The Supreme Court's ruling on Marbury v. Madison established its right to determine, and be the final judge of, constitutional matters.
