Which landmark case established judicial review in the United States?

• A. Marbury v. Madison (1803)
• B. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
• C. Roe v. Wade (1973)
• D. Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Answer: (A)

Judicial review is the power of courts to examine laws and government actions to determine whether they violate the Constitution. The case that established this authority for the United States Supreme Court is Marbury v. Madison. In 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall argued that the Constitution is the supreme law and that it is the judiciary’s duty to interpret it, giving the Court the power to deem laws or actions unconstitutional. This decision created a mechanism for checking legislative and executive power and set the long‑standing precedent that the Supreme Court can strike down laws that conflict with the Constitution.

The other cases involve different constitutional issues but did not establish judicial review. McCulloch v. Maryland affirmed federal supremacy and implied powers; Roe v. Wade recognized a constitutional right to abortion under certain interpretations of privacy and liberty; Dred Scott v. Sandford held that enslaved people could not be citizens and that Congress had limited power over slavery in new territories, a ruling later overturned by amendments and subsequent cases.