John Marshall served between 1801 and 1835 as the fourth United States Chief Justice. He was born in 1755 in Virginia as the first born to his parents, Keith and Thomas (Smentkowski, 2018). He was home-schooled by his father but went to Campbell Academy for one year with John Monroe who later became U.S. president. During his teenage, he admired Washington, his father’s friend, who later inspired him to join the military. He was appointed lieutenant at a state militia, which was later absorbed by the Patriot militia that freed Virginia from the Britain rule. He served as an officer in the army and as the chief legal officer.
Marshall studied law at College of William & Mary in Virginia and set his law firm during which he defended clients against British creditors before the American Revolution. He also served in government as a general assembly representative to Fauquier County and as a delegate for Henrico County in Virginia House. Moreover, he worked as a fair and honest magistrate at Richmond Hustings Courts. As such, Marshall played a big role in ratifying the United States Constitution. During Adams’s tenure, he served in the position of state secretary before becoming the chief justice in 1801 to 1835 (Editors, 2009). During his time as the chief justice, he delivered up to a thousand decisions in addition to being a delegate in Virginia. He died in 1835 while he was still the chief justice.
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John Marshall voted on many cases, but the important ones include the Marbury vs Madison case, McCulloch vs Maryland, and Cohens vs. Virginia (Frankfurter, 1995). Before leaving the position of the state secretary, John Marshall did not deliver the commission to Marbury, the peace justice of the Columbian district, but he left the obligation to the incoming state secretary, Madison (Law, n.d.). The president’s political rival, Thomas Jefferson, upon his inauguration, asked Madison not to deliver the commission since he did not want Adam’s supporters in his government. Marbury filed a lawsuit in the highest court in the land, Supreme Court, requesting for an order by the court so that Madison was made to deliver the commission to him. In the case, Marshall ruled that in as much as Marbury had the entitlement, the court had no authority to compel Madison to deliver the commission (Law, n.d.). Marshall noted that the 1789 Judicial Act that required the Supreme Court to issue such orders was unconstitutional and ought to be null and void.
In the early years of United States, the first president established a national bank which was later closed by the third president and reestablished by the fourth president. Since many states did not want the competition of the national bank, Maryland levied an enormous tax on the bank, and the bank failed to pay (Law, n.d.). McCulloch vs Maryland case was taken to court, whereby Maryland was for the opinion that there was no constitutional mandate for the federal government to establish the bank. Marshall stated that the constitution had not delegated the authority to the federal government, but his ruling was in favor of the bank, arguing that the relevant clause gave the bank the mandate whereby the clause allowed Congress to exercise its enumerated powers (Law, n.d.).
Cohen’s brothers violated Virginian’s law by selling Washington D.C. lottery tickets. They were charged in Virginia’s court but appealed to the Supreme Court in the Cohens vs Virginia case. Marshall upheld Virginia’s court conviction to fine Cohen’s brothers (Law) .
Through the ruling on the Marbury vs Madison case, Marshall ensured that the judicial system is equal to the executive and the legislature. In the McCulloch vs Maryland case, the court affirmed the existence of implied powers, while in the Cohens vs. Virginia case, the court stated that it had the right to review criminal proceeding of the states, that the Supreme Court could make the final decision in issues relating to both the states and the national government (Law, n.d.).
These cases established the Supreme Court role in the federal government (Editors, 2014). Marshall’s jurisprudence exemplified the rule of law and preservation of the union, which exists to this day (Franck, 2016). Indeed, the modern doctrine of judicial review is founded on the ruling of the Marbury vs Madison case. Pertaining to this particular issue, John Marshall said that since the constitution incorporates the people’s sovereign will, then it is the fundamental and paramount law. Today, the Supreme Court is the ultimate decider of what is constitutional (Law, n.d.).
References
Editors, B. (2014, April 2). John Marshall Biography . Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/people/john-marshall-9400148
Editors, H. (2009, November 9). John Marshall . Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/john-marshall
Franck, M. (2016, January 21). John Marshall: The great Chief Justice . Retrieved from https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/john-marshall-the-great-chief-justice
Frankfurter, F. (1995, December). John Marshall and the judicial function. Harvard Law Review, 69 (2), 217-238.
Law, S. (n.d.). Chief Justice John Marshall's Legacy . Retrieved from http://landmarkcases.org/en/Page/288/Chief_Justice_John_Marshalls_Legacy
Smentkowski, B. P. (2018, September 20). John Marshall . Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Marshall
