The Marshall Court

"The Marshall Court" (under John Marshall)
(1803) Marbury v. Madison
-William Marbury (one of Adams' midnight appointments), sued Secretary of State Madison to force delivery of his commission as a justice of the peace in the federal district; Marshall would not rule on it, because he said the law that gave the Supreme Court power to rule over such matter was unconstitutional
-established the policy of judicial review over federal legislation
-Precedent of the Supreme Court's power to rule on the constitutionality of federal laws
(1810) Fletcher v. Peck
-Georgia legislature issued extensive land grants to Yazoo Land Company; afterwards, it was considered corrupt, so there was a legislative session that repealed the action
-Court ruled that the original contract was valid and could not be broken
(1819) Dartmouth College v. Woodward
-Republicans back the president of the college, Federalists backed the trustees
-president try to make it a public institution (instead of private) by having the charter revoked
-ruled that even though charter was granted by the king, it was still a contract and thus could not be changed without the consent of both parties
(1819) McCulloch v. Maryland
-state of MD tried to levy a tax on the Baltimore branch of the Bank of the United States (to protect the competitive position of state banks)
-ruled against state, b/c state had no right to control an agency of the federal gov't
(1824) Gibbons v. Ogden
-NY state had granted monopoly to Ogden of Hudson River. Gibbons obtained a permit from Congress to operate steamboat there
-Ogden sued, and state ruled in his favor
-Marshall ruled that it was interstate commerce and could not be regulated by a state (only Congress could) - the monopoly was then voided
(1831) Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
-Court refused to hear case, which the Cherokees brought forward, b/c GA had abolished their tribal legislature and courts (said that because the tribe was a "foreign nation, the decision should be made by the Supreme Court)
-Marshall said they really were not foreign nations (they just had special status)
(1832) Worcester v.Georgia
-GA state gov't said any US citizen who wanted to enter Cherokee territory had to obtain permission from the governor
-GA law was overturned, b/c the federal gov't had the constitutionally mandated role of regulating trade with the tribes
-Jackson said of Marshall "John Marshall has made his decision. Now let him enforce it"