The Power of Judicial Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Power of Judicial - Essay Example Judicial review refers to the authority of a court (the Supreme Court or its lower courts) to examine either an executive or legislative act whether it is lawful (constitutional) or not; if not, then the court declares such act as illegal and invalidates the said act as having no legal effect. It is a well-established legal doctrine by practice but it has not been adequately settled as an issue. There are two prevailing opinions on the supposed power of judicial review by the Supreme Court. The first view is that no such explicit powers had been granted or contemplated by the Founding Fathers since nowhere in the Constitution was such powers of judicial review clearly stipulated. The second and opposing view is that the Founding Fathers had intended to grant such powers of review but may have inadvertently omitted it by oversight or by mistake only. Opponents of judicial review cite Section II, Article III of the Constitution as not saying a power to review had been granted since wha t this section contains is merely a mention of judicial power (but not judicial review powers) while its advocates cite legal precedence in this regard. It had been decided when this issue came up in Marbury v. Madison (1803) when the U.S. Supreme Court for the very first time declared an act of Congress as unconstitutional. This act is declared illegal, hence this implies the power of judicial review by the Supreme Court. However, advocates of judicial review most often cite the article by Alexander Hamilton  in the Federalist (Paper No. 78) as the ultimate guide whether the Founding Fathers intended for a judicial review.