Marbury vs Madison.........?

Question

what is Marbury vs. Madison?
please give me a short simple explanation.
thankyou......

Answer 1

Marbury v. Madison basically said that the Supreme Court has authority over the federal courts. What it did in the short term was strike down a judiciary act that appointed Marbury as a Federal judge. In the long term it made the Supreme Court the final, judical authority and finally the most powerful branch of government.

Before Marbury v Madison, the courts followed Common Law, which is the massive body of cases which have already been decided. Marbury v. Madison interrupted that by saying that the Supreme Court decisions trump all previous cases. Whenever the Supreme Court makes a decision, it is the law no matter what. The Supreme Court can change the law and is the final authority of the law.

The term Judicial Review means that the court can go over the law and change it if it so desires. This power is limited by the jurisdiction which is the question, "Can this court hear this case, or should it be heard by a different court?" Federal jurisdiction has expanded increasingly. Any dispute between people of different states or an issue covered under federal legislation is subject to judicial review by the Supreme Court. This is where the controversy surrounding federal wiretapping arises. Does the judiciary have authority to review actions of the executive branch? The case shall be heard before the circuit courts soon and most likely before the Supreme Court later.

You should be able to gain extra points by tieing in the topic of the federal wire tapping. This follows under Marbury v. Madison because it is that case that would allow the judiciary to hear the present cases. The question is whether the needs of intellegence and war permit the executive branch to proceed without that review. Both sides have strong arguments and you would not be penalized for picking one view or the other as long as you argued it well.

goodluck and ask again if you need more.

Answer 2

William Marbury was given a commission to be Justice of the Peace in the District of Columbia by John Adams just before Jefferson became president. Once Jefferson took office, he instructed James Madison, the Sect. of State, to withhold the appointment. Marbury took his complaint to the Supreme Court, which up to that time had really done nothing. This established the precident of "Petitioning the Court" for rulings which we enjoy today.
Marbury lost the ruling, some say, because Jefferson would have ignored it anyway and the court was afraid that this would errode their already small influence.

Answer 3

Try:
http://www.bartleby.com/59/11/marburyversu.html

Answer 4

This was the landmark case that established the principle of "judicial review". It pretty much gave the Supreme Court the power to interpret the constitution and apply those interpretations to laws/regulations.

This is about the most simple explanation I can think of - in order to fully explain the case and the idea of judicial review would take a long time....

Answer 5

http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/9.htm