John Marshall and Judicial Review Research Paper

John Marshall and Judicial Review - Research Paper Example Rather, Britain adheres the principle of parliamentary supremacy which gives the Crown and Parliament [House of Lords and House of Commons after the 1832 Reform Act3] the right to make laws. These laws followed the ultra vires rule and once a given situation fell under the scope of a law enacted by Parliament, it had to be obeyed without question4. Britain remained in this situation until the mid-1900s where the House of Lords was allowed to review cases that contained inherent legal disputes that could not be handled by the courts5. However, one of the landmark changes that the independence of the United States brought was the creation of an independent Judiciary that is headed by a Supreme Court which was meant to act as an independent branch of government with the power to control the two other arms of government6. The landmark ruling that established the precedence of Judicial Review was issued by Justice John Marshall in 1803 when he ruled on the case of Marbury V Madison7. This paper examines the ruling of this landmark case in US legal history and its role in establishing the principle of Judicial Review which subsists to this