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The Appointment And Removal Of William J. Marbury And When An Office Vests, Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash
The Appointment And Removal Of William J. Marbury And When An Office Vests, Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash
Notre Dame Law Review
Scholars have ignored the most important question in one of the most famous constitutional law cases, obscuring the machinations that spawned the dispute. This Article sheds light on the events that precipitated Marbury v. Madison and also explains when an appointment vests. Thomas Jefferson famously refused to deliver a commission to William J. Marbury, causing the latter to seek a writ of mandamus from the Supreme Court. The received wisdom supposes that Jefferson’s refusal rested on the grounds that Marbury had not been appointed a justice of the peace precisely because he never had received a commission. In fact, Jefferson’s …