Marbury V. Madison

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MARBURY v. MADISON, 5 U.S. 137 (1803) 5 U.S. 137 (Cranch) WILLIAM MARBURY v. JAMES MADISON, Secretary of State of the United States. Mr. Chief Justice MARSHALL delivered the opinion of the Court. At the last term, on the affidavits then read and filed with the clerk, a rule was granted in this case requiring the Secretary of State to show cause why a mandamus should not issue directing him to deliver to William Marbury his commission as a justice of the peace for the county of Washington, in the District of Columbia. No cause has been shown, and the present motion is for a mandamus. The peculiar delicacy of this case, the novelty of some of its circumstances, and the real difficulty attending the points which occur in it require a complete exposition of the principles on which the opinion to be given by the Court is founded…. In the order in which the Court has viewed this subject, the following questions have been considered and decided. 1. Has the applicant a right to the commission he demands? 2. If he has a right, and that right has been violated, do the laws of his country afford him a remedy? 3. If they do afford him a remedy, is it a mandamus issuing from this court? The first object of inquiry is: 1. Has the applicant a right to the commission he demands? [The Court’s discussion showing Marbury’s right to the commission is omitted.] Mr. Marbury, then, since his commission was signed by the President and sealed by the Secretary of State, was appointed, and as the law creating the office gave the officer a right to hold for five years independent of the Executive, the appointment was not revocable, but vested in the officer legal rights which are protected by the laws of his country. To withhold the commission, therefore, is an act deemed by the Court not warranted by law, but violative of a vested legal
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