<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Laws applied </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> U.S. Const . arts . I, III; Judiciary Act of 1789 § 13 </Td> </Tr> <P> Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (1803), was a U.S. Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review in the United States, meaning that American courts have the power to strike down laws, statutes, and executive actions that contravene the U.S. Constitution . The Court's landmark decision, issued in 1803, helped define the boundary between the constitutionally separate executive and judicial branches of the American form of government . </P> <P> The case ultimately stemmed from a rivalry between outgoing U.S. President John Adams and incoming President Thomas Jefferson . Adams had lost the U.S. presidential election of 1800 to Jefferson, and in March 1801, just two days before his term as president ended, Adams appointed several dozen men who supported him and the Federalist Party to new circuit judge and justice of the peace positions in an attempt to stymie Jefferson and his supporters in the Democratic - Republican Party . The U.S. Senate quickly confirmed Adams's appointments, but upon Jefferson's inauguration two days later, a few of the mens' paper commissions still had not been delivered . Jefferson believed the commissions were void because they had not been delivered in time, and instructed his new Secretary of State, James Madison, not to deliver them . </P>

What was the significance of marbury vs madison