The Federal Supreme Court And Judicial Review

The original Supreme Court was lowly and had no prestige and a comfortable workroom. However, the judges of the Supreme Court weren't reconciled to lead a no dignified life. When John Marshall occupied the fourth chief justice, he established the system of judicial review by managing his own wisdom and judicial skills in the series of acts, and so the Supreme Court won the power of judicial review.The Supreme Court struggled with the other branches by managing the power of judicial review during 200 years and escalated the prestige. The important problems in America gradually became judicial ones. In this sense, the Supreme Court played a crucial role in the construction of constitutional polity of the United States. It led the development of the America such as in the fields of polity, morality and economy and became the interpreter of all the knowledge and conceptions. And so Bernard Schwartz who is the American historian of constitution regarded the Supreme Court as a political constitution, because 'the Supreme Court established the power confines between branches in the verdicts, and because the better function of the commonwealth and the scope of the individual right lied on its verdicts.'The essay discusses on how the Supreme Court established the system of judicial review and how the Supreme Court led the development of the American constitutional construction by the power of judicial review. The author hopes that it can provide a little benefit value for the constitutional construction of China. There are four parts in the dissertation.The first part briefly discusses the general situation of the Supreme Court. In this part, the author generally explains the basal problems of the Supreme Court such as the naissance, the status, the condition of accepting a case, the procedure of hearing a case etc. The purpose of the author is that it makes the reader generally understanding on the work mechanism of the Supreme Court.The second part expatiates on how the Supreme Court established the system of the judicial review. It is a historical necessity and has not only profound the academic origins but also the rich experiences to establish the system of the judicial review in America. The system of Privy Council reviewed the laws made by colonial parliament , the judicial review of the earlier state courts and the judicial experiences of the earlier Supreme Court are crucial and important for the system of judicial review established by the Marshall Court. In 1803, the Chief Judge Marshall established the power of judicial review that the Supreme Court can review the laws made by the Council in the Marbury v. Madison, but it is only one part of the powers of judicial review. He lately declared in Fletcher v. Peck that the Supreme Court had the power to review the state laws and established in Martin v. Hunter's Lessee and Cohens v. Virginia that the Supreme Court had the appellate power on the cases from the state courts. The constitution of the power of judicial review was basically finished now. The system of judicial review formally established till now. The Supreme Court not only reviewed the laws made by federal or state council but also had the final jurisdiction for the federal and state courts. The Supreme Court became itself.The third part discusses on the course of judicial review of the Supreme Court. After the Supreme Court established the system of judicial review, it begin to manage the power of judicial review to combat other branches .From the whole history of judicial review of the Supreme Court , the author divides it into three phases: the first phase is from the American Independency to the end of civil war. The Supreme Court paid attention to the relations on between the commonwealths with states in this phase. The second phase is from the end of civil war to New Deal. The Supreme Court paid attention to the free development of economy in this course. The third course is from the New Deal to now. The Supreme Court paid attention to protect the basic rights of civics.The fourth part summarizes the values of judicial review of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court led America to the more rational and civilized direct and contributed to the constitutional construction by managing judicial review. Its values are that it vindicates the unification and stabilization of the federal constitution, makes up the objection of the theory of demotic sovereignty and ensures civil rights.The epilogue briefly explains that judicial review embodies the American characters as a material system, but it has the characters of general application. And so , we should construct the legal system on the realistic basic and gain and absorb the rational factors from judicial review.