page_title: Levi Lincoln Sr.
section_title: Participation in Marbury v. Madison
hierarchical_section_title: Levi Lincoln Sr. / United States Attorney General / Participation in Marbury v. Madison
caption_attribution_description: English: William Marbury, plaintiff in Marbury v. Madison.
context_page_description: Levi Lincoln Sr. was an American revolutionary, lawyer, and statesman from Massachusetts. A Democratic-Republican, he most notably served as Thomas Jefferson's first Attorney General, and played a significant role in the events that led to the celebrated Marbury v. Madison court case. He served two terms as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, acting as Governor for the remainder of Governor James Sullivan's term after his death in December 1808. Lincoln was unsuccessful in his bid to be elected governor in his own right in 1809.
  Born in Hingham, Massachusetts, Lincoln was educated at Harvard, and studied law with Joseph Hawley before establishing a law practice in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was active in local politics, and participated in the convention that drafted the Massachusetts Constitution in 1779. He supported Quock Walker, a former slave seeking confirmation of his freedom under that constitution in 1783. He entered national politics with his election to the United States House of Representatives in 1800, but was immediately tapped by Jefferson to become Attorney General.
context_section_description: When Jefferson took office, he moved as quickly as possible to fill his cabinet positions. Although he had asked James Madison to be his Secretary of State, Madison did not arrive in Washington until May 1, 1801 because of illness. In the interim, Jefferson asked Lincoln to act temporarily as Secretary of State, which he did from March 5, 1801, until Madison assumed his duties on May 2. During this time, Lincoln was involved in actions that led to the celebrated Marbury v. Madison case concerning judicial review. In the later days of the John Adams administration, the President issued a large number of commissions, some of which had not been delivered by John Marshall, his Secretary of State, at the time Jefferson assumed office. Jefferson ordered Lincoln (in his capacity as acting Secretary of State) and then Madison (after his assumption of the position) not to deliver these commissions.
  Some intended recipients of the commissions, William Marbury among them, filed a suit in the United States Supreme Court to compel their delivery. In his role as Attorney General, Lincoln was present at the preliminary hearing on the case, representing Madison. When the case was heard (ironically by a court headed by John Marshall, the preparer of the commissions), Lincoln was called to the stand by Marbury's attorney, former Attorney General Charles Lee. Rather than answer Lee's questions, Lincoln invoked both executive privilege and the Fifth Amendment, requesting the opportunity to consider whether or not to answer the questions. The justices granted him time but made it clear that he must answer the questions or clearly justify his objections to specific written questions. When Lincoln returned the next day, he answered all of the posed questions but one. Asked "[w]hat had been done with the commissions," Lincoln refused to answer directly, only stating that he did not know if Madison ever received them. The opposition press criticized Lincoln for the performance, writing that he "was asked a simple question, but could not answer it until they gave it to him in writing,... and then he made out to remember that he had forgot all about it".
caption: William Marbury, plaintiff in Marbury v. Madison
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