Marbury v. Madison, is arguably the most important case in Supreme Court .The case began on March 2, 1801, when an obscure Federalist, William Marbury, was designated as a justice of the peace in the District of Columbia. Marbury and several others were appointed to government posts created by Congress in the last days of John Adams's presidency, but these last-minute appointments were never fully finalized. The appointees invoked an act of Congress and sued for their jobs in the Supreme Court. This case was decided by the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice John Marshall. He decided the case of William Marbury versus James Madison who was the Secretary of State of the United States and confirmed the legal principle of judicial review–the ability of the Supreme Court to limit Congressional power by declaring legislation unconstitutional–in the new nation. The court ruled that the new president, Thomas Jefferson, via his secretary of state, James Madison, was wrong to prevent William Marbury from taking office as justice of the peace for Washington County in the District of Columbia. John Marshall ruled that Marbury was entitled to his job, but stated the US Supreme Court didn't have original jurisdiction over the case. …show more content…
He also stated that the judiciary’s first responsibility is always to interpret the Constitution. If two laws conflict, Marshall wrote, the court is responsible for deciding which law applies in any given case. Thus, Marbury never received his job. It also ruled that the court had no jurisdiction in the case and could not force Jefferson and Madison to seat Marbury. The Judiciary Act of 1789 gave the Supreme Court jurisdiction, but the Marshall court ruled the Act of 1789 to be an unconstitutional extension of judiciary power into the realm of the