Info...
- A judicial review is the power of courts of law to review the actions of the executive and legislative branches
- Usually associated with the U.S. Supreme Court, which has the most judicial authority, it is a power used by most federal and state courts of law in the United States
- State courts uphold the national law through judicial review
- state courts could determine whether or not state executive acts or state statutes are valid
Fun Facts...
- Prior to the early 1800s, no country in the world gave its judicial branch much authority
- During the early years of the Republic, the Supreme Court upheld congressional acts, which implied the power of judicial review
- Having established power of the judicial review, the Supreme Court applied it only once before the Civil War, in 1857, ruling the Missouri Compromise of 1820 unconstitutional
Real Life Examples...
- The US Supreme Court first tried the judicial review in the case of Hylton v. United States, although the rationale for using it had been laid in Federalist No. 78. Hylton v. United States was the first instance in which the Supreme Court evaluated the constitutionality of a federal law.
- The US Supreme Court case often credited the doctrine of judicial review Marbury v Madison, (1803) in which Chief Justice John Marshall declared Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional.