DEBATES IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, ON THE BILL FOR REPEALING THE LAW "FOR THE MORE CONVENIENT ORGANIZATION OF THE COURTS OF THE UNITED STATES;" DURING THE FIRST SESSION OF THE SEVENTH CONGRESS. AND A LIST OF THE YEAS AND NAYS ON THAT INTERESTING SUBJECT.

[United States Courts]:

Published by Albany: Printed for Collier and Stockwell, 1802.

About this Item

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." 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 The Senate deadlocked and Vice President Burr cast the deciding vote against the measure, but the act was repealed after a subsequent vote.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. 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). Contemporary calf, morocco label stamped in gilt. Calf scuffed and worn, front hinge cracking, rear hinge tender. Light, even tanning; foxing. Good.

Seller Inventory # 24229

Bibliographic Details

• Title: DEBATES IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, ON THE BILL FOR REPEALING THE LAW "FOR THE MORE CONVENIENT ORGANIZATION OF THE COURTS OF THE UNITED STATES;" DURING THE FIRST SESSION OF THE SEVENTH CONGRESS. AND A LIST OF THE YEAS AND NAYS ON THAT INTERESTING SUBJECT.
• Publisher: Albany: Printed for Collier and Stockwell, 1802.