## Facts

- President John Adams appointed William Marbury as a justice of the peace for the District of Columbia near the end of his administration.
- The Senate confirmed the appointment; Adams signed Marbury’s commission; the Secretary of State affixed the Great Seal.
- Marbury’s commission was not physically delivered before President Thomas Jefferson took office.
- Jefferson directed Secretary of State James Madison to withhold undelivered commissions.
- Marbury filed an original action in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking a writ of mandamus compelling Madison to deliver the commission, relying on § 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789.

## Issues

1. Whether Marbury had a legal right to the commission once it was signed and sealed.
2. Whether the law provided a remedy for withholding the commission.
3. Whether the Supreme Court could issue a writ of mandamus in an original action under § 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 consistent with Article III.

## Decision

- The Court held Marbury’s appointment was complete when the commission was signed by the President and sealed by the Secretary of State, giving Marbury a vested legal right to the office.
- The Court held a legal remedy exists for violation of a vested right; mandamus is an appropriate form of relief to compel performance of a ministerial duty.
- The Court dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction because Article III limits the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction, and Congress cannot expand it by statute.
- The Court held the portion of § 13 construed to authorize mandamus in the Court’s original jurisdiction conflicted with the Constitution and was void.
- The decision was unanimous.

## Legal Principles

- An executive appointment is complete, and the appointee’s right vests, when the final required executive act is performed (signature and sealing of the commission); delivery is not required to complete the appointment.
- Courts may review and remedy violations of individual rights when a government officer fails to perform a duty specifically required by law; purely political or discretionary executive acts are not judicially reviewable.
- A writ of mandamus may issue to compel a ministerial act when a legal right depends on performance of that act.
- The Constitution is superior law; when a statute conflicts with the Constitution, courts must apply the Constitution and treat the conflicting statute as void.
- The Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction is fixed by Article III and may not be enlarged by Congress.

## Conclusion

The Court recognized Marbury’s right to his commission and the availability of mandamus for a ministerial violation, but denied relief because Congress could not constitutionally expand the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction; in doing so, the Court established federal judicial review of congressional enactments.


Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (1803)