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"The founding fathers made sure that the Supreme Court was not just a bunch of kids playing tag on a playground." The founders actually chose to be extremely v
by ewoodrich 13y ago
"The founding fathers made sure that the Supreme Court was not just a bunch of kids playing tag on a playground."
The founders actually chose to be extremely vague as to the exact role and powers of the court and for the first several decades of the US, SCOTUS was irrelevant and weak. The Court led by Chief Justice John Marshall, solidified its role as the third check on federal power.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marbury_v._Madison http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marbury_v._Madison
- graycat 13y agoThanks for the link. So, Marbury was decided in 1803 and, thus, added weight to the (by then already old) concept of 'judicial review' where a court can declare a law unconstitutional. While IANAL (although my brother got his Ph.D. in con-law), I would guess that by now just how the SCOTUS could strike down a law is well established. History aside, apparently the situation now is that the SCOTUS can strike down a law as unconstitutional and the rest of government and the citizens will accept that decision.