U.S. Government and Civics / Unit 8: The Federal Courts
8.3 Judicial Review
Notes
Judicial review is the power of courts to declare laws and government actions unconstitutional.
- It is not stated directly in the Constitution. In Federalist No. 78, Hamilton argued that courts must have it and called the judiciary the "least dangerous" branch, with power over neither "the sword nor the purse."
- ***Marbury v. Madison* (1803): William Marbury sued for his appointment as a justice of the peace. Chief Justice John Marshall** ruled that part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional because it expanded the Court's original jurisdiction beyond what Article III allows.
- Marbury established that it is "the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is."
- State courts can also use judicial review on state laws under their state constitutions.
Practice
In Federalist No. 78, Hamilton called the judiciary the "least dangerous" branch because:
Courts depend on the other branches to enforce their rulings.
In Marbury v. Madison, the Court struck down part of which law?
It found that the act unconstitutionally added to the Court's original jurisdiction.
A state court rules that a city law violates the state constitution. This is an example of:
Any court can rule laws unconstitutional within its jurisdiction.
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