Summary of Court Cases - Summary of Supreme Court Cases 1...

Summary of Supreme Court Cases
1. Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Facts of the Case
The case began on March 2, 1801, when an obscure Federalist, William Marbury, was designated as a justice of
the peace in the District of Columbia. Marbury and several others were appointed to government posts created
by a Federalist Congress in the last days of John Adams's presidency. These last-minute appointments were
never fully finalized, however, since the new President Thomas Jefferson, did not want to seat Federalist judges.
Marbury and other disgruntled appointees invoked an act of Congress and sued for their jobs in the Supreme
Court.
Question
Is Marbury entitled to his appointment? Is his lawsuit the correct way to get it? And, is the Supreme Court the
place for Marbury to get the relief he requests?
Conclusion
Yes; yes; and it depends. The justices held, through Marshall's forceful argument, that on the last issue the
Constitution was "the fundamental and paramount law of the nation" and that "an act of the legislature repugnant
to the constitution is void." In other words, when the Constitution--the nation's highest law--conflicts with an act of
the legislature (in this case, the Judiciary Act of 1791, which, among other things, added to the Court’s original
jurisdiction), that act is invalid. This case establishes the Supreme Court's power of judicial review and provides
the Court with the means of “checking” the other branches.
2. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Facts of the Case
In 1816, Congress chartered The Second Bank of the United States. In 1818, the state of Maryland passed
legislation to impose taxes on the bank. James W. McCulloch, the cashier of the Baltimore branch of the bank,
refused to pay the tax.
Question
The case presented two questions: Did Congress have the authority to establish the bank? Did the Maryland law
unconstitutionally interfere with congressional powers?
Conclusion
In a unanimous decision, the Court held that Congress had the power to incorporate the bank and that Maryland
could not tax instruments of the national government employed in the execution of constitutional powers. Writing
for the Court, Chief Justice Marshall noted that Congress possessed unenumerated powers—specifically the
“necessary and proper clause” of Article I—not explicitly outlined in the Constitution. Marshall also held that while
the states retained the power of taxation, "the constitution and the laws made in pursuance thereof are
supreme…they control the constitution and laws of the respective states, and cannot be controlled by them."
3.
Barron v. Baltimore (1833)
Facts of the Case
1

John Barron was co-owner of a profitable wharf in the harbor of Baltimore. As the city developed and expanded,
large amounts of sand accumulated in the harbor, depriving Barron of the deep waters which had been the key
to his successful business. He sued the city to recover a portion of his financial losses.