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How did Marbury v. Madison establish judicial review in the United States?

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lampoon of Interstate Commerce Commission — Administrative law Cartoon depicting a uniformed Interstate Commerce Commission officer shining a large searchlight on U.S. railroad executive Edward Henry Harriman, who is struggling to carry a large load of packages and toy trains, some labeled “merger.”

In the landmark 1803 case Marbury v. Madison, the U.S. Supreme Court established the doctrine of judicial review by asserting the judiciary's authority to invalidate acts of Congress that conflict with the U.S. Constitution.

Chief Justice John Marshall faced a political dilemma regarding the delivery of judicial commissions. While he affirmed that the plaintiff, William Marbury, had a legal right to his commission, he determined that the Supreme Court could not issue a writ of mandamus to enforce it. Marshall reasoned that Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which granted the Court this power, was unconstitutional because it improperly expanded the Court's original jurisdiction beyond the limits defined in Article III of the Constitution.

By declaring a federal statute void, Marshall established the judiciary as the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution. This decision secured the Court's role as a coequal branch of government, affirming the principle that any law repugnant to the Constitution is void and that courts are bound to uphold the supreme law of the land.1