Judicial review in the United States refers to the power of a court to review the constitutionality of a statute or treaty, or to review an administrative regulation for consistency with either a statute, a treaty, or the Constitution itself.
The United States Constitution does not explicitly establish the power of judicial review. Rather, the power of judicial review has been inferred from the structure, provisions, and history of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court's landmark decision on the issue of judicial review was Marbury v. Madison (1803), in which the Supreme Court ruled that the federal courts have the duty to review the constitutionality of acts of Congress and to declare them void when they are contrary to the Constitution. Marbury, written by Chief Justice John Marshall, was the first Supreme Court case to strike down an act of Congress as unconstitutional. Since that time, the federal courts have exercised the power of judicial review. Judicial review is now a well settled doctrine. As of 2010, the United States Supreme Court had held unconstitutional some 163 Acts of the U.S. Congress.
Read more about Judicial Review In The United States: Judicial Review Before The Constitution, The Provisions of The Constitution, Marbury V. Madison, Judicial Review After Marbury, Criticism of Judicial Review, Standard of Review, Laws Limiting Judicial Review, Administrative Review
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