Which Supreme Court case established the principle of judicial review in the United States?

Marbury v. Madison established the principle of judicial review in the United States.

The Supreme Court decided the case in 1803. Chief Justice John Marshall held that the Court could declare an act of Congress unconstitutional, making judicial review a central feature of the American constitutional system.

The dispute began when William Marbury was appointed a justice of the peace near the end of President John Adams’s administration. Marbury asked the Supreme Court to order Secretary of State James Madison to deliver his commission.

Marshall’s decision denied Marbury’s requested remedy because the relevant part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional. The ruling therefore strengthened the judiciary even though Marbury himself did not receive the commission. The Constitution does not explicitly use the phrase “judicial review,” but the decision grounded the power in the structure of constitutional government.