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The issue in the case Marbury v. Madison (1803) was whether or not the Supreme Court of the United States had the power, under Article III, Section 2, of the Constitution, to interpret the constitutionality of a law or statue passed by Congress. This matter was brought forth to SCOTUS as a result of Thomas Jefferson's instructions to the Secretary of State, James Madison, not to appoint William Marbury as federal justice of peace. Marbury sued Madison to get the appointment he thought he deserved by asking the court to issue a writ of mandamus, which would require Madison to deliver the appointment.
The court then decided that Marbury's request for the writ of mandamus was based on a law passed by Congress (Judiciary Act) that the court held to be unconstitutional. The federal law contradicted the Constitution, and since the Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land, it must reign supreme. Through the decision of the court, Chief Justice John Marshall established the power of......

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