Which case established judicial review, allowing courts to strike down laws they find unconstitutional?

• A. McCulloch v. Maryland
• B. Marbury v. Madison
• C. Gibbons v. Ogden
• D. Miranda v. Arizona

Answer: (B)

Judicial review is the power of courts to examine laws and government actions and strike them down if they violate the Constitution. The case that first established this authority for the U.S. judiciary is Marbury v. Madison. In that decision, the Supreme Court explained that while Marbury had a right to his commission, the Court could not issue the writ he sought because the law enabling that action went beyond what the Constitution permitted for the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction. More importantly, the opinion asserted that it is the duty of the judiciary to interpret the Constitution and to declare laws or government actions unconstitutional if they conflict with it. This set the precedent that courts can review and nullify laws that clash with the Constitution.

By contrast, McCulloch v. Maryland affirmed federal supremacy and Congress’s implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause, but it did not establish judicial review. Gibbons v. Ogden dealt with the regulation of interstate commerce and federal supremacy in that area, not the power to strike down unconstitutional laws. Miranda v. Arizona established protections for the rights of the accused, not the doctrine of judicial review.