Impact of Major Supreme Court Cases

Impact of Major Supreme Court Cases

There have been many court trials that have resulted in a change or modification of a law but a much fewer number have actually changed or had a major impact on the United States Government.   By analyzing various court cases one can understand the importance and influence certain cases can and have had on the Government.   There are three very important Supreme Court cases that affect us to this day.   The Supreme Court cases of Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, and Gibbons v. Ogden have each had an impact on the government and its role.
The Marbury v. Madison case began in 1803 when John Adam’s was in the process of appointing as many Federal judicial court positions to loyal peers as he could.   This process consists of Adam’s writing a formal letter, and having the Secretary of State who was then John Marshall, deliver the letters to the corresponding recipients.   Before Marshall had an opportunity to deliver all of the letters President Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated in which, Jefferson ordered the new Secretary of State, James Madison, to stop delivering the commission letters.   William Marbury was one of the intended recipients that did not receive his letter.   This infuriated Marbury in which he took his issue to the Supreme Court.   The recently appointed Chief Justice, Marshall, took the case.   Marbury argued that under the Judiciary Act of 1789 he should receive his commission letter by having the Supreme Court order a Writ of Mandamus on Madison.   This would force Madison to deliver the letters as that was one of his responsibilities as Secretary of State.  
This trial not only tried the obvious dispute between Marbury and Madison but it also caused controversy on whether or not the Judicial Branch could have original jurisdiction over this case according to Article III of the constitution.   The question was: can Congress add to Article III to accommodate other cases or can nothing be said by Congress to change it at all?   Also, if...