Answer :
I believe the answer is: power to use judicial review to determine whether a law is constitutional
In marbury v. Madison, the court established that the American courts has the power strike down laws, statutes, and executive actions that contravene the U.S. Constitution.
The 'judicial review' process is carried out to interpret the words written within the constitution, which become the basis to allow or disallow the strike down.
Answer:
Marbury v. Madison affirmed the Supreme Court's power of judicial review.
Explanation:
Marbury v. Madison was a judicial process before the Supreme Court of the United States resolved in 1803. It arose as a result of a political lawsuit following the presidential elections of 1800, in which Thomas Jefferson, who was a Republican Democrat, defeated then-President John Adams, who was a federalist. In the last days of the outgoing government of Adams, the Congress, dominated by the federalists, established a series of judicial positions, among them 42 justices of the peace for the District of Columbia. The Senate confirmed the appointments, the president signed them and the Secretary of State was in charge of sealing and delivering the appointment documents. In the last-minute hustle and bustle, the outgoing secretary of state did not deliver the minutes of appointment to four justices of the peace, including William Marbury.
The new secretary of state of President Jefferson's government, James Madison, refused to hand over the appointment records because the new government was irritated by the federalists' maneuver to try to secure control of the judiciary by appointing members of its party just before ceasing in government. However, Marbury appealed to the Supreme Court to order Madison to deliver his record.
If the Court ruled in favor of Marbury, Madison could still refuse to deliver the record and the Supreme Court would have no way to enforce the order. If the Court ruled against Marbury, it risked submitting the judiciary to Jefferson's supporters by allowing them to deny Marbury the position he could legally claim. Chief Justice John Marshall resolved this dilemma by deciding that the Supreme Court was not empowered to settle this case. Marshall ruled that Section 13 of the Judicial Law, which granted the Court these powers, was unconstitutional because it extended the original jurisdiction of the Court to the jurisdiction defined by the Constitution itself. Having decided not to intervene in this particular case, the Supreme Court secured its position as final arbiter of the law, granting itself the power of judicial review.
