This passage is part of Chief Justice John Marshall’s argument in Marbury v. Madison.
Certainly, all those who have framed written constitutions contemplate them as forming the fundamental and
paramount law of the nation, and consequently the theory of every such government must be, that an act of
the legislature, [offensive] to the constitution, is void.... It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial
department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases, must...expound and interpret
that rule. If two laws conflict with each other, the courts must decide on the operation of each.
What principle did Marshall outline in his argument?
A The judicial branch should determine if a law is unconstitutional.
B Only the judicial branch should have limited powers.
C Only the legislative branch can rule on the constitutionality of laws.
D The legislative branch was the supreme authority in the country
1 answer