Albany: Printed for Collier and Stockwell 1802. 796pp. Contemporary calf morocco label stamped in gilt. Calf scuffed and worn front hinge cracking rear hinge tender. Light even tanning; foxing. Good. An important - and possibly the most extensive - record of Congressional debates concerning the nature of the Judiciary and its establishment as an independent branch of the government in the wake of the Judiciary Act of 1801. Two versions of these debates were printed in 1802: one in Philadelphia; and the present Albany New York version which bears imprints by two different sets of printers. This Albany version differs from the Philadelphia printing in that it includes both the Senate and House debates. It also appears to have been edited from a pro- Jeffersonian viewpoint mentioning in the preface that the "judicial power has armed itself in defence of its own supposed rights and independence." <br> <br> The election of 1800 represented the end of Federalist control of the Executive branch after twelve years. On the eve of Jefferson's inauguration President Adams nominated and the Senate confirmed John Marshall as chief justice of the Supreme Court. In addition Congress quickly passed a law reducing the number of Supreme Court justices to five took away their Circuit Court duties and reorganized the Circuit Courts with sixteen new justices all of whom were nominated and confirmed just weeks prior to the inauguration. The intention was to keep the Judiciary as an adjunct of the Federalists. The Federalists waited about a year to organize and one of the first measures introduced in the Senate in 1802 was a repeal of the Act of 1801 at Jefferson's insistence. The Senate deadlocked and Vice President Burr cast the deciding vote against the measure but the act was repealed after a subsequent vote. The Supreme Court went back to having six justices all of whom headed one of six U.S. Circuit Courts. <br> <br> Repeal of the 1801 Judiciary Act helped reduce Democrat-Republican influence in the U.S. courts; but as with so many triumphs this victory came with an unanticipated result: one minor aspect of the 1801 Act was the appointment by the President of the justices of the peace for Washington and Alexandria. On March 2 Adams nominated and the next day the Senate confirmed forty-two justices but four of the commissions had not been delivered by midnight when Adams' term expired. One of these was to William Marbury who sued after Jefferson ordered Secretary of State Madison to withhold the commission. The case went to the Supreme Court in 1803 where Marbury lost primarily because the Court had just emerged from the Federalist-Democrat-Republican political thicket and a new struggle with the executive branch was to be avoided. However the case also included a hidden doorway through which Marshall hustled to declare the independence of the Judiciary from the blatant partisanship of recent years and claim its equality with the other two branches of government. In addition the Court ruled that Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 which authorized such a writ was contrary to the Constitution and therefore invalid. It was the first time the Supreme Court declared a law of Congress void but this was a power the Court itself possessed with the greatest timidity. This was the only case while Marshall was chief justice in which the Court specifically reversed an Act of Congress. The concept would not be employed again by the full court until the Dred Scott decision fifty-four years later. COHEN 1203. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 3271. SABIN 19101 variant imprint. Printed for Collier and Stockwell unknown books
Philadelphia 1802. 2324pp. Half title. Contemporary three-quarter morocco and marbled boards spine gilt leather label. Some scattered foxing lightly toned. About very good. An important record of the evolution of American law and the development of judicial independence in the early republic. This is one of two printings of the debates over the repeal of the Judiciary Act of 1801. This version is edited from a Federalist perspective with critical comments on the debates as recorded in the NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER an organ of the Jeffersonian Republicans. The debate over the repeal of the Judiciary Act of 1801 addressed issues of judicial review and the role size and authority of the judiciary branch issues which led ultimately to the landmark case of Marbury v. Madison. The 1801 act passed by a Federalist Congress reduced the number of Supreme Court justices from six to five created new circuits and allowed outgoing President John Adams to appoint several new federal judges the so-called "midnight judges." Jefferson opposed the 1801 act and though it was overturned by the Judiciary Act of 1802 the federal judiciary remained fundamentally unaltered. The Marbury v. Madison decision of 1803 solidified the notion of judicial review of legislation and elevated the Supreme Court to a level of equality with the executive and legislative branches. <br> <br> A vital document exemplifying the debates over the judiciary in the Federalist era and emblematic of the political skirmishes of the day. COHEN 1058. SABIN 19105. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 3273. OXFORD COMPANION TO THE SUPREME COURT pp.474- 75. hardcover books
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