What is a judicial review and why is it important?

Answer 1

The power of judicial review was not declared as a sole power of the federal judiciary (Supreme Court) until the nation was a quarter-century old when the Supreme Court made the decision in the case of Marbury v. Madison (1803) Marbury, a last minute judicial appointee of the outgoing Federalist President John Adams, demanded that the Jefferson administration deliver his appointment, which he had not received. He took his case to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Marshall realized that if the court declared that Marbury should receive his commission, Jefferson would simply ignore the order and there was nothing the Supreme Court could do. Instead, Marshall declared that, while Marbury was justified in his suit, the portion of the law on which he based his claim was unconstitutional (Judiciary Act, 1789) It was the first time the Court struck down an act of Congress, thus establishing the doctrine of judicial review and the power of the Court to be chief interpreter of the Constitution. Many historians believe the "Founding Fathers" had intended for the federal courts to have the power of judicial review. But even after the Marbury decision, many who supported the theory of "states' rights" continued to argue that the states rightly had that power according to their interpretation of the Constitution. It took a Civil War to uphold once and for all time, the supremacy of the Federal government including its power of judicial review.

Answer 2

The power of judicial review isn't formally stated in the Constitution, but the authority is implied in Article III, and in general by virtue of the Supreme Court's role as head of the Judicial branch of government. Judicial review was adopted from the English practice of common law, and was generally accepted as a function of the courts for hundreds of years.

Judicial review is important because it allows the Judicial Branch to check the power of the Executive and Legislative Branches, forcing them to adhere to the principles of the Constitution. This is an important protection for people under US jurisdiction (theoretically, anyway).

Scholars typically cite Marbury v. Madison,5 US 137 (1803) as the case that established a precedent for using judicial review, because Marbury was the first US Supreme Court decision that directly explicated the Court's power to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional (Judiciary Act of 1789, § 13). Marbury was not the first case in which the Court weighed the validity of a law against the Constitution, however, nor was it the first case challenging an law passed by Congress.

The first recorded use under the US Constitution, however, was in 1792, when a US Circuit Court found an act of Congress related to military veterans unconstitutional. Congress rewrote the law -- without protest -- in 1793.

An earlier case, Hylton v. United States, 3 US 171 (1796), used judicial review to support challenged legislation, Act of June 5, 1794, (repealed in 1796), that imposed a tax on carriages. The Court upheld the tax as constitutional under Article I, Section 8. Since Hylton affirmed an act of Congress, it is often overlooked as an example of judicial review.

Similarly, a second case that Term, Ware v. Hylton, 3 US 199 (1796), held that the Treaty of Paris (1783) superseded an otherwise valid Virginia statute and used the Supremacy Clause to nullify the law.

Marybury v. Madison is considered more important both because it was the first time the Supreme Court overturned a federal law, and because Chief Justice John Marshall officially declared judicial review the right and responsibility of the Judicial Branch.

For more information, see Related Questions, below.

Answer 3

court is judicial review, the power to overturn any law which the court decides is in conflict with the constitution. It is important because it gives the judicial branch final say over the validity of any law.