United States Supreme Court

United States Supreme Court

The permanent home of the Supreme Court Building is located at One First Street, NE, Washington, DC.

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John Marshall

John Marshall a promising young lawyer from Virginia, was named chief of justice. Under him the court asserted for the first time the greatest of all judicial powers striking down a act of congress as unconstitutional. Today behind the statue of John Marshall are the words of his opinion of the case of Marbury vs Madison. “ Is it emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is”. In a later case Marshall wrote, “ We must never forget that it is a constitution we are expounding. Under his leadership the court made the constitution an effective instrument of nation moving.

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Dred Scott

Twenty years later the court faced the most divisive issue in American history. Dred Scott, a Missouri slave, claimed his freedom under an act of congress. Under Chief justice Roger brook Tony, the court ruled that congress had no power to ban slavery and that blacks could never be citizens. This decision weakened the court's authority for many years to come. The slavery question was finally resolved by the Civil War and the Dred Scott decision is remembered as the courts great self- inflicted wound.

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Constitution Amended

After the Civil War the constitution was amended to abolish slavery, define citizenship, and grant voting rights. The 14th Amendment told the states that they could not deny the due process of law or equal protection to the law of any citizen.