Did the US Supreme Court hold that it had the power to review the constitutionality of Acts of Congress?

Answer 1

Yes, the case of Marbury v. Madison (5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137) established the doctrine of judicial review. This doctrine states that the Judiciary, through Article III of the Constitution and the implied powers established in the Marbury case, to review any legislative actions to evaluate their Constitutionality.

Answer 2

Yes, under certain circumstances. The Supreme Court uses judicial review to overturn laws if they are contrary to the Constitution, but only if the law is part of a case or controversy under review by the Court.

Answer 3

Yes. This is a hold-over from British Common Law, which was the foundation of the US judicial system. Chief Justice John Marshall officially claimed the power of judicial review as the province of the judicial branch (lead by the Supreme Court) in his opinion for Marbury v. Madison, (1803).

While judicial review has become a point of contention in the years since the Marbury decision, the fact is the practice had been used by the federal court system and accepted by the other branches since the federal government's inception. If not for the underlying political issues involved in Marbury, the use of judicial review would probably never have been contested.

Case Citation:

Marbury v. Madison, 5 US 137 (1803)

Answer 4

No. Congress does not have the authority to overturn a Supreme Court decision because of constitutional separation of powers.

No single entity - not the President, Senate, House of Representatives, state Governors, nor anyone else - has the power to overturn a US Supreme Court ruling. Supreme Court decisions cannot be nullified by other parts of government.

1. The Supreme court can overrule it's own rulings.
2. The Constitution can be amended. This would require a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress, and ratification by three-quarters of the states (actually, at least 39).

Optionally, Congress can rewrite a law to conform with Constitutional standards, which is the most frequent response to the Supreme Court overturning a law.

Answer 5

Judicial Review

It is a common misconception that the US Supreme Court has the authority to review all Acts of Congress. In reality, there are some restrictions on when the Supreme Court can exercise judicial review:

1. The Court can only review Acts of Congress that have been signed into law.
2. The Court can only review laws that are relevant to cases before the court.
3. The Court can only hear genuine cases and controversies, not hypothetical challenges.
4. The Court can only review cases that fall under its jurisdiction.
5. The Court can not review laws or subject matter from which Congress has stripped its appellate jurisdiction (under these circumstances, Congress assigns final jurisdiction to another federal court).

Answer 6

No. The Supreme Court cannot review legislation; it can only evaluate laws and executive orders that have already passed and are relevant to a case or controversy before the Court.