[quote=spdrun]Nah, by “making law” he meant that the Marbury decision was wrong and that the courts shouldn’t have the power of judicial review.[/quote]
So he was reaching that far back for his opinion? W/o Marbury, then what purpose would the Supreme Court really have? It was supposed to be a counter to the Legislative and Executive branches. The Supreme Court was only court mandated by the Constitution – and its purview was judicial review. I don’t think the intent of the founders was to have members of the Legislative and Executive branch to be above judicial review. After all, they had just fought a war with members of an entity who felt above both common law and review of their actions. Whose very actions contributed to the intent and wording of both the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Article III, section 2:
The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority;–to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls;–to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction;–to controversies to which the United States shall be a party;–to controversies between two or more states;–between a state and citizens of another state;–between citizens of different states;–between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states, and between a state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects.
Don’t need to quote the rest… but if continues along these lines.
I don’t get your work colleague’s position.
What is also interesting about Marbury v. Madison, it that it also limited the scope of the Supreme Court – part of the decision also indicated that part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional – because it would have given the Supreme Court the ability to ‘compel’ (writ of mandamus) which did not exist in the Constitution.
I think your work colleague needs to be careful of complaining about Marbury v. Madison because with out it, the Supreme Court would actually have been more powerful due to the Judiciary Act of 1789.
