Which case established judicial review in the United States?

• A. Dred Scott v. Sandford
• B. Plessy v. Ferguson
• C. McCulloch v. Maryland
• D. Marbury v. Madison

Answer: (D)

Judicial review is the power of the courts to declare laws or government actions unconstitutional. Marbury v. Madison is the case that established this authority for the United States. In 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall explained that while Marbury had a right to the commission, the Supreme Court could not grant the writ he sought because the Judiciary Act that would have given the Court that power extended beyond what the Constitution allowed. This ruling clarified that the Constitution is the supreme law and that the Supreme Court has the final say in interpreting it. With this decision, the Court gained the power to strike down laws or actions that conflict with the Constitution, creating a critical check on the other branches. The other cases address different constitutional issues—citizenship and slavery in one, segregation and equality in another, and federal versus state power in a third—and do not establish the principle of judicial review.