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6.2 %u2022 John Marshall and the Power of the Supreme Court 193The Judiciary Act of 1801: Appointments Signed, Sealed, but Not DeliveredHaving lost the presidential election and the majority in Congress, the Federalists tried to preserve their influence within the national government. The Federalists turned to the federal judiciary, the one branch where they might endure. Federal judges are shielded by lifetime appointment, providing they do not commit an impeachable offense.46In the final weeks of John Adams%u2019s administration, the Federalists sought to cement their position within the federal judiciary by passing the Judiciary Act of 1801, which changed the Supreme Court%u2019s schedule, reduced the size of the Court from six justices to five, and reorganized the lower federal courts in such a way as to create sixteen new vacancies that were promptly filled by Adams%u2019s administration. Adams%u2019s last-minute appointments have been called %u201cthe midnight judges%u201d because of the hasty nature of their nomination and confirmation. In the scramble to complete the paperwork before the Republicans took the reins of government, some of the commissions signed by Adams, including one for William Marbury, were not delivered and were still sitting on Secretary of State John Marshall%u2019s desk when Adams%u2019s term expired at midnight.While President Jefferson did deliver the commissions to some of the midnight appointees after he took office, William Marbury and several others did not receive theirs. Marbury, along with three other men, brought suit against James Madison, Jefferson%u2019s Secretary of State, requesting that the Supreme Court issue a writ of mandamus, a kind of court order, requiring Madison to deliver their commissions as justices of the peace of the District of Columbia.47The men argued that all of the required steps in their appointments had been properly taken: President Adams had nominated them, the Senate had confirmed their nominations, and the commissions had been signed and affixed with the presidential seal. Madison%u2019s failure to deliver the commissions, they insisted, constituted a serious breach of etiquette and tradition.Politics and the Power of the Supreme CourtLess than two weeks before Adams signed the Judiciary Act of 1801 into law, the Senate confirmed the president%u2019s appointment of his Secretary of State, John Marshall, to be the new chief justice of the United States.48 Marshall was a Federalist. He was also an experienced politician. He had been a supporter of the Constitution at Virginia%u2019s ratifying convention and was considered %u201ca gregarious [sociable] individual, someone who valued good company, good food, and good wine.%u201d49 Marshall served as chief justice of the United States from 1801 to 1835 and remains the longest-serving chief justice in American history. Over the course of his service as chief justice, Marshall worked to strengthen the power of the national government and the independence of the judicial branch.Chief Justice Marshall had to consider the political implications of his decision in Marbury%u2019s case against Madison. He also had to reflect on how his decision would affect the overall power of the judiciary, as a coequal branch of government. If the Supreme Court waded into the political battle%u2014by ordering Jefferson%u2019s administration to deliver the The election of 1800 had far-reaching implications. John Adams lost the election, and the Federalist Party unraveled. Friendships and political alliances were fractured. Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton continued their bitter rivalry, which culminated in Burr fatally shooting Hamilton in a duel (depicted here) in 1804.Sarin Images/GRANGER-All Rights Reserved%u00a9 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Do not distribute.