Who established judical review as a power of the supreme court?

Answer 1

Fourth Chief Justice John Marshall presided over the US Supreme Court when he formally claimed the courts' right to exercise judicial review in his opinion for the case Marbury v. Madison, (1803).

Contrary to popular belief, Marbury was the not first case in which the Supreme Court practiced judicial review, just the first time they declared an Act of Congress unconstitutional (Judiciary Act of 1789, § 13). A Circuit Court overturned a piece federal legislation in the late 18th century, and Congress accepted the decision without argument.

Judicial Review is a carryover from English common law practices that was adopted by the American courts.

Answer 2

The precedent for Judicial Review as a power of the Supreme Court of the USA is generally considered to have been established via the case Marbury vs. Madison.

In this case Marbury was suing the Secretary of State, James Madison, to deliver his appointment as Justice of the Peace of Washington D.C.

The outgoing President John Adams had made several judiciary appointments including Marbury The Judiciary Act of 1801 was passed by the lame-congress between the time of the elections and when the new congress (and President) took office. The act established a bunch of new courts and allowed the President to appoint new judges and Justices of the Peace for the new courts. The appointments were approved by the Senate, but, to go into effect, the commissions had to be delivered to those appointed. Most of the commissions were delivered before Adams left office - but not all - including that of Marbury. Without the commissions, the appointees were unable to assume the offices and duties to which they had been appointed. In the opinion of the new President (Thomas Jefferson) any undelivered commissions, not having been delivered on time, were void. (Note: The new congress actually repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801 and replaced it with a new law.)

Marbury sued and requested that the Supreme Court, under the terms of the Judiciary Act of 1801, order the Secretary of State to deliver his appointment. The Supreme Court opinon (written by then Chief Justice John Marshall) found that while Marbury was entitled to the commission, the Judiciary Act of 1801 that supposedly gave jurisdiction to the Supreme Court to order it conflicted with Article III of the Constitution and that Marbury had to take a different legal route to get his commission.

With all that in mind, there are arguments that the power of Judicial Review actually predated Marbury vs Madison and that the case should only be noted as the first instance of the Supreme Court exercising an existing power. Most of these arguments posit that the actual origin of the principle came from Edward Coke in his ruling in the Dr. Bonham's Case in England in 1610. In that case Coke ruled that the court had ultimate authority to interpret the meaning and intent of the law. There are counter-arguments that Coke only meant to construe a statute without challenging Parliamentary Sovereignty.

Either way - Marbury vs Madison solidified the concept of the Supreme Court having the power of judicial review and that the Constitution is the authoritative basis for deciding the validity of laws, i.e the power of the Supreme Court to void laws by declaring them Unconstitutional. As the author of the majority opinion in the case, Chief Justice John Marshall could be considered be the one who established Judicial Review as a power of the Supreme Court of the USA.

Answer 3

Chief Justice John Marshall wrote the opinion for Marbury v. Madison, (1803), the case typically associated with establishing the right of judicial review in the United States.