<P> Among the men whose commissions had not been delivered in time was William Marbury, a landowner and businessman from Maryland who had been a strong supporter of Adams and the Federalists . In late 1801, Marbury filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court asking the Court to issue a writ of mandamus forcing Madison to deliver his commission . The Court, in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Marshall, found firstly that Madison's refusal to deliver the commission was both illegal and correctible . Nonetheless, the Court stopped short of ordering Madison to hand over Marbury's commission, instead holding that the provision of the Judiciary Act of 1789 that enabled Marbury to bring his claim to the Supreme Court was itself unconstitutional, since it purported to extend the Court's original jurisdiction beyond that which Article III established . </P> <P> Marbury v. Madison remains the single most important decision in American constitutional law . The decision expanded the power of the Supreme Court in general, by announcing that the 1789 law which gave the Court jurisdiction in this case was unconstitutional . Marbury thus lost his case, which the Court said he should have won, but, in explaining its inability to provide Marbury the remedy it said he deserved, the Court established the principle of judicial review, i.e., the power to declare a law unconstitutional . </P> <P> In the fiercely contested U.S. presidential election of 1800, the three major candidates were Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, and John Adams, who was the incumbent U.S. president . Adams was aligned with the Federalist Party, while Jefferson and Burr were part of the opposing Democratic - Republican Party . American public opinion had gradually turned against the Federalists in the months prior to the election, mainly due to their use of the Alien and Sedition Acts and growing tensions with Great Britain . Jefferson easily won the popular vote, but only narrowly defeated Adams in the Electoral College . </P> <P> As the results of the election became clear in early 1801, Adams and the Federalists became determined to exercise their influence in the weeks remaining before Jefferson took office, and did all they could to fill federal offices with "anti-Jeffersonians" who were loyal to the Federalists . On March 2, 1801, just two days before his presidential term was to end, Adams nominated nearly 60 Federalist supporters to circuit judge and justice of the peace positions the Federalist - controlled Congress had newly created . These appointees--whom Jefferson's supporters (and many later historians) called the "Midnight Judges"--included William Marbury, a prosperous businessman from Maryland . An ardent Federalist, Marbury was active in Maryland politics and had been a vigorous supporter of the Adams presidency . </P>

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