East Los Angeles College Marbury v Madison Short History Discussion

You will need to use Federal Paper #78 for this assignment, but do not worry. I wrote comments in it and highlighted vital parts. Think about what side you are on if you are on one for this assignment. This opinion piece will be less historical and more about the modern court. I understand this might not be easy to comprehend since it is about the judicial system (you need to go to law school to understand most of the stuff), so I will consider that when I grade.

Question:

Define the importance of Marbury v. Madison (Judicial Review).

• Describe the history behind the decision (you can find it in the lecture summary). You may use Jefferson’s reaction to it in your paper.
• Next, read Federalist #78 and pick one or more quotes (you may select the ones I highlighted) to analyze.
  • Answer one of the following:
    • Should justices have lifetime appointments?
    • How afraid are you that one’s blind belief affects their opinion?
    • Should the Supreme Court have the power to overturn laws?
    • Is the Supreme Court perfect the way it is? If not, what changes would you suggest?
    • Anything else I might have missed.
• Finally, examine and explain a current case (the 1950s to the present) and/or current events that support your position. 

Material:

Must use to analyze

• Federalist Paper 78 Judicial BranchActions

Here is some information that might help form your opinions:

• History Sources
  • Marbury v. Madison- Background Information (Links to an external site.)
  • C-SPAN on the Midnight Judge’s Act (Links to an external site.)
  • “Midnight Judge’s Act” (Judiciary Act of 1801) (Links to an external site.)
  • Thomas Jefferson’s ReactionActions
• Any outside media source needs to be cited, but it is okay to use (make sure they are credible in the sense that they are not out of the mainstream)
• Landmark Cases (Links to an external site.)
  • Brown v. Board of Education (segregation and schools)
  • Gideon v. Wainwright (right to legal representation)
  • Engel v. Vital (school prayer)
  • Mapp v. Ohio (evidence without a warrant cannot be used in a trial)
  • Miranda v. Arizona (police must inform suspects of their rights)
  • New York Times v. Sullivan (freedom of the press and government officials)
  • Terry v. Ohio (stop and frisks do not violate the Constitution)
  • Texas v. Johnson (flag burning is protected)
  • U.S. v. Nixon (The President is not above the law)
  • There are others, but these are the ones that you may have heard about in the past.

Expectations:

• Knowledge of the importance of the Court.
• Recognition of the differences of opinion about its power.
• Analyze the modern Court.