constitutional law Essay -- essays research papers

Constitutional rectitudeMarbury v. Madison     Marbury v. Madison, one of the first tyrannical greet cases asserting the author of judicial review, is an effective argument for this power however, it lacks direct textual basis for the decision. marshallmanaged to get away with this insufficiency because of the silence on m whateverissues and the vague wording of the Constitution. During the early test period when few precedents existed, there was much debate about original issues concerning what was intended by the words of theConstitution and which part of government should pay off the final word indefining the meaning of these words. Marshall utilize the Marbury case toestablish the Supreme dallys place as the final judge.          Marshall identified three major irresolutions that needed to be answered before the Court could rule on the Marbury v. Madison case. The first of these was, "Has the applicant a justifiedly to the focussing he demands?" The Constitution allows that "the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, . . . " (Art. II, 2). The Judiciary Act of 1793 had given thePresident the right to key out national judges and justices of thepeace there is no dispute that such an appointment was within the scopeof the prexys powers. Debate arises because the Constitution issilent on the exact time at which the appointment is consideredcomplete. The Supreme Court rule that "when a commission has beensigned by the president, the appointment is made and that thecommission is complete, when the seal of the United States has beenaffixed to it by the secretary of state." This ruling does not assimilatedirect constitutional support, but it is not an unreasonable decision.          The second question which Marshall addressed was, "If Marbury has a right, and that right has been violated, do the laws of this country grant him a remedy?" The answer is logically yes although there are nospecific words in the Constitution to support such an answer. found onthe type of government intended by the Constitution, the government is pass judgment to protect individual liberty. As Marshall says, "Thegovernment will certainly cea... ...urthermore,the president also was not in a position to allow the federal governmentmore leeway in interpreting their powers. He does not make any laws ofhis own and has no power to settle any questions of the states. Clearly,the Supreme Court was the branch that could most easily facilitate the fortify of the national government into an effective and unifiednation rather than xiii independent countries as the states hadseemed under the Articles of Confederation.     Critics will protest that the people do not elect the Supreme CourtJustices and therefore the Supreme Court s hould not have the power ofjudicial review. As McCloskey points out, "No organization in ademocratic society could become and remain muscular unless it could counton a solid block of public discernment that would rally to its side in apinch." Clearly, the Supreme Court is in conclusion responsible to the willof the people. By maintaining independence from politics, the Justicesavoid the major problems of policy-making parties and party platforms.Furthermore, the Supreme Courts small size allows the Constitution tospeak with a unified voice throughout the country.