How did John Marshall help establish the authority of the Supreme Court?

Answer 1

Many of the Marshall Court's decisions strengthened not only the Supreme Court, but the new Federal government. Chief Justice Marshall believed in shared power between the US and the states, but believed the intent of the Constitution was to organize the power around a strong central government.

In McCulloch v. Maryland, (1819), the Court prevented the State of Maryland from imposing an unfair tax on the federal Second National Bank, advancing the doctrine of implied powers, invoking the Article I Necessary and Proper Clause, and asserting the Article VI Supremacy Clause, elevating the authority of federal law over state law.

The Marshall Court also discouraged states from defying the federal government's authority by holding the Eleventh Amendment was no bar to the federal courts exercising appellate jurisdiction over state court decisions involving federal question jurisdiction; subordinated common law rule (laws based on court decisions) to statutory law; advanced the "complete diversity" principle that made it difficult for corporate shareholders to sue each other in federal courts; restrained the States from violating the terms of charters, and upheld Congress's right to regulate laws affecting interstate business under the Interstate Commerce Clause (Gibbons v. Ogden, (1824)), etc.

Overall, the Marshall Court strengthened both the judiciary and the federal government by resolving issues of state sovereignty, Constitutional supremacy, legal jurisdiction, and separation of powers. In doing so, John Marshall successfully established the Judicial branch's power as a co-equal branch of government, and the Supreme Court as final arbiter of the US Constitution.

Answer 2

Many of the decisions of the Marshall Court are still basic to American law. Marshall used his influence on other Justices and his decisions emphasized how the federal government, under the Constitution, was basically supreme over state powers. Marshall made "broad construction" of the Constitution the prevailing law of the land.

One of the more important powers Marshall affirmed for the US Supreme Court was "judicial review," the right of the federal courts, and most particularly the Supreme Court, to analyze a law relevant to a case before the Court and determine its constitutionality. The authority also extends to Executive Orders, provided they have been challenged in Court. This serves as a much-needed check on the power of the Legislative and Executive Branches, respectively.

Answer 3

John Marshall established the court's idea to look at laws and see if they are constitutional. John Marshall was the fourth Supreme Court judge in the United States.