Rate this book

The Great Decision: Jefferson, Adams, Marshall, And The Battle For The Supreme Court (2009)

by Cliff Sloan(Favorite Author)

3.71 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1586484265 (ISBN13: 9781586484262)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

PublicAffairs

review 1: The Great Decision is about the case of Marbury v. Madison which is usually viewed as the foundation of the Supreme Court's ability to declare a law unconstitutional. It is interesting that the reason Marbury brought the case was because Chief Justice John Marshall did not do his job properly as the Whigs (Federalists) stacked the court system during the several month lame duck session after Jefferson and the 19th Century 'Republicans' were elected. The decision itself essentially said the court did not have original jurisdiction in the case after Marshall excoriated his cousin Thomas Jefferson and Madison. Mention was made of Marshall's failure to deliver the commission to Marbury. One must also note the Jefferson administration did not consider the court as having ju... morerisdiction over the executive and congress. In essence, John Marshall was an activist judge. Nowhere in the Constitution is the Supreme Court given the 'right' to declare a law unconstitutional nor does it explicitly make the Judicial Branch co-equal to the other branches.
review 2: An interesting, albeit short, discussion of the seminal Supreme Court case Marbury vs. Madison. I remember reading the short brief of this case in law school, but I never got a chance to learn the backstory of the historical figures involved, which this book does do a excellent job of laying out for us. Recommended reading for US or Constitutional history lovers, also this is short enough and informative enough to be used as assigned reading for a high school US History class. less

Download links for: The Great Decision: Jefferson, Adams, Marshall, and the Battle for the Supreme Court

Advertising