<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 some government actions that contravene the U.S. Constitution . Decided in 1803, Marbury remains the single most important decision in American constitutional law . The Court's landmark decision established that the U.S. Constitution is actual "law", not just a statement of political principles and ideals, and helped define the boundary between the constitutionally separate executive and judicial branches of the American form of government . </P> <P> The case ultimately originated from the political and ideological 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 frustrate 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 new judges' 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 . One of the men whose commissions had not been delivered in time was William Marbury, a Maryland businessman who had been a strong supporter of Adams and the Federalists . In late 1801, after Madison had repeatedly refused to deliver his commission, Marbury filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court asking the Court to issue a writ of mandamus forcing Madison to deliver his commission . </P> <P> In an opinion written by Chief Justice John Marshall, the Court held firstly that Madison's refusal to deliver Marbury's commission was illegal, and secondly that it was normally proper for a court in such situations to order the government official in question to deliver the commission . However, in Marbury's case, the Court did not order Madison to comply . Examining the law Congress had passed that gave the Supreme Court jurisdiction over types of cases like Marbury's, Marshall found that it had expanded the definition of the Supreme Court's jurisdiction beyond what was originally set down in the U.S. Constitution . Marshall then struck down the law, announcing that American courts have the power to invalidate laws that it found to violate the Constitution . Because this meant the Court had no jurisdiction over the case, it could not issue the writ that Marbury had requested . </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 pro-business and pro-national - government politics of Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist Party, while Jefferson and Burr were part of the opposing Democratic - Republican Party, which favored agriculture and decentralization . 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 as well as growing tensions with Great Britain, with whom the Federalists favored close ties . Jefferson easily won the popular vote, but only narrowly defeated Adams in the Electoral College . </P>

What was the problem in the marbury vs madison case