page_title: Marbury v. Madison
section_title: Decision
hierarchical_section_title: Marbury v. Madison / Decision
context_page_description: Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137, was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review in the United States, meaning that American courts have the power to strike down laws, statutes, and some government actions that they find to violate the Constitution of the United States. Decided in 1803, Marbury remains the single most important decision in American constitutional law. The Court's landmark decision established that the U.S. Constitution is actual "law", not just a statement of political principles and ideals, and helped define the boundary between the constitutionally separate executive and judicial branches of the federal government.
  The case originated from an incident that occurred in early 1801 as part of the political and ideological rivalry between outgoing President John Adams, who espoused the pro-business and pro-national government ideals of Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist Party, and incoming President Thomas Jefferson, who favored agriculture and decentralization and led the Democratic-Republican Party.
context_section_description: On February 24, 1803, the Court rendered a unanimous 4–0 decision against Marbury. Due to illnesses, Justices William Cushing and Alfred Moore did not sit for oral argument or participate in the Court's decision.
  The Court's opinion was written by the Chief Justice, John Marshall. Marshall structured the Court's opinion around a series of three questions that Marshall answered in turn: 
  First, did Marbury have a right to his commission?
  Second, if Marbury had a right to his commission, was there a legal remedy for him to obtain it?
  Third, if there was such a remedy, could the Supreme Court legally issue it?
caption: An engraving of Chief Justice John Marshall made by Charles-Balthazar-Julien Fevret de Saint-Mémin in 1808
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