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Presidential Removal: The Marbury Problem And The Madison Solutions, Jed Handelsman Shugerman
Presidential Removal: The Marbury Problem And The Madison Solutions, Jed Handelsman Shugerman
Faculty Scholarship
Marbury v. Madison is not just a puzzling judicial review precedent. It is also a puzzle about presidential removal. Why was it not taken for granted that Jefferson, Secretary of State Madison, or another executive official could simply fire Marbury? Why did Chief Justice Marshall also conclude in the unanimous decision that Marbury could not be removed?
This symposium essay summarizes recent research (especially by Jane Manners and Lev Menand) to solve this problem: an office appointed to a term of years restricted removal in the Anglo-American tradition, demonstrating that presidential removal was not a default rule. This essay also …