Marbury v Madison: Judicial Review
The case stemmed from one of the nastiest political fights in American history. In the 1800 presidential election, Federalist John Adams lost to Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson. Adams and the outgoing Federalist Congress tried to pack the courts before Jefferson took office. On March 2, 1801—just two days before Jefferson's inauguration—Adams nominated 42 Federalist supporters as federal judges and justices of the peace. Jefferson's supporters called them the "Midnight Judges" because Adams signed the commissions in his final hours as president. Among these appointees was William Marbury, a Maryland businessman nominated as a justice of the peace for Washington, D.C.
Marbury v Madison: Judicial Review
The case stemmed from one of the nastiest political fights in American history. In the 1800 presidential election, Federalist John Adams lost to Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson. Adams and the outgoing Federalist Congress tried to pack the courts before Jefferson took office. On March 2, 1801—just two days before Jefferson's inauguration—Adams nominated 42 Federalist supporters as federal judges and justices of the peace. Jefferson's supporters called them the "Midnight Judges" because Adams signed the commissions in his final hours as president. Among these appointees was William Marbury, a Maryland businessman nominated as a justice of the peace for Washington, D.C.
Marbury v Madison: Judicial Review
The case stemmed from one of the nastiest political fights in American history. In the 1800 presidential election, Federalist John Adams lost to Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson. Adams and the outgoing Federalist Congress tried to pack the courts before Jefferson took office. On March 2, 1801—just two days before Jefferson's inauguration—Adams nominated 42 Federalist supporters as federal judges and justices of the peace. Jefferson's supporters called them the "Midnight Judges" because Adams signed the commissions in his final hours as president. Among these appointees was William Marbury, a Maryland businessman nominated as a justice of the peace for Washington, D.C.