Kentucky Governor's Cup Practice Test

Judicial review is the power of courts to examine laws and government actions to decide if they violate the Constitution. Marbury v. Madison is the case that established this authority for the U.S. Supreme Court. In this decision, Chief Justice John Marshall argued that the Constitution is the supreme law and that it is the judiciary’s role to interpret it and to strike down any law or government action that conflicts with it. The dispute arose when William Marbury sought a writ of mandamus to compel delivery of his commission; the Court held that while Marbury had a right to the commission, the specific remedy he sought was unconstitutional because the statute granting the Court that power went beyond what the Constitution allowed. This ruling created the principle that the Court can review acts of Congress and state governments and declare them unconstitutional, establishing a crucial check on the other branches and a final authority on constitutional meaning. Roe v. Wade focuses on abortion rights, Brown v. Board of Education on desegregation and equal protection, and Plessy v. Ferguson on segregation. They are important cases, but they do not establish the power of judicial review.