How Do Supreme Court Cases Affect Society

Throughout the years, Supreme Court Cases have had a huge effect on our society and the growth of the United States. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body in the United States, and is the only court established by the Constitution. All of the other courts in the United States must follow the decisions made by the justices of the Supreme Court. The Constitution also gives it the power to judge if a president’s action is unconstitutional. The Court meets in Washington D.C in the United States Supreme Court building. Nine justices compromise the U.S. Supreme Court, one chief justice and eight associate justices. Once approved, all justices serve for life. The President nominates candidates for the Supreme Court, and they must be approved
When President Jefferson takes office, he orders his Secretary of State, James Madison, not to deliver the commissions that should have been delivered. William Marbury, along with the other appointees who did not receive their commission, petitioned for a “writ of mandamus.” A “writ of mandamus,” by definition, orders a governmental body to perform an act required by law when this governmental body refuses to do so. Marbury is essentially forcing Madison by law to give him a reason as to why he did not receive his commission. Although Marbury might have had the right to this “writ of mandamus,” Chief Justice John Marshall denied the petition for a writ because the Constitution did not give Supreme Court the authority to issue such. Although section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 may have granted the right to issue the writ, it was ruled that the Court could not grant the writ because it was unconstitutional as it only applied to cases of original jurisdiction. If the Court had stretched original jurisdiction to include a case like Marbury’s, Congress would have overstepped it’s