In the coming weeks, SCOTUSblog will be running a series of Closer Looks on some of the most well-known Supreme Court plaintiffs. We felt it made sense to start with William Marbury, from the rather minor case of Marbury v. Madison.
William Marbury was born in November 1762, likely on a tobacco plantation near Piscataway, Maryland. His grandfather, Francis Marbury, was an English immigrant, who made immense wealth off of property and served as a justice at the county court. Marbury’s father, also named William, inherited one-fifth of his father’s lands, but struggled to make money in the tobacco industry, which was hampered by Britain monopolizing the market and placing large duties on exports.
Marbury’s youth was spent moving from place to place as his father chased futile attempts to gain wealth. Perhaps influenced by his father’s failure in that regard, Marbury pursued a career in finance. In 1781, Marbury began working as a clerk to the Maryland auditor general and for much of the rest of the decade as a deputy tax collector.
In 1791, Marbury was named the deputy agent for the state of Maryland and then in 1796 the agent for the state, in which he handled financial agreements, collected back taxes, and sold estates. Around this time, he was welcomed into Potomac Federalist circles. In 1798, Marbury became an agent to the Washington Navy Yard, where he would be tasked with overseeing the construction of a naval yard at the Anacostia River.
In the waning days of the Adams administration, President John Adams nominated Marbury to serve as a justice of the peace for the District of Columbia. Marbury had actively worked to try and re-elect Adams through the Electoral College during the election of 1800.
Despite being confirmed by the Senate and Adams signing his commission, this was never delivered to Marbury. Newly elected President Thomas Jefferson, unwilling to allow more Federalists to take the bench, instructed Secretary of State James Madison not to deliver the commission, prompting Marbury to file suit.
In the case of Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court ruled that Marbury was entitled to his commission and that normally a writ of mandamus (an order to a government official to do his or her duties) would be the appropriate remedy. However, Marbury filed his lawsuit directly at the Supreme Court, and the court held that the relevant provision of the Judiciary Act of 1789 which purported to give the court original jurisdiction over the case was unconstitutional. As a result, the court lacked the authority to hear it and issue a writ of mandamus. This marked the first time that the Supreme Court declared an act of Congress to be unconstitutional – although it was perhaps not the first time that courts had engaged in judicial review.
Marbury never sought further legal action regarding his commission, resulting in him never becoming a justice of the peace. Instead, he continued his successful career in finance. He also involved himself in land speculation, purchasing land southeast of Washington D.C., as well as stock in Navy Yard Bridge Company, which had a bridge across the Anacostia River, and the Washington Turnpike, a toll road from Georgetown to Rockville, Maryland.
At the time of his passing in 1835, Marbury owned 37 enslaved people. His will stated that his estate would manumit his personal servant, Hamilton, after seven years. However, because the emancipation was delayed, it is unknown whether Hamilton was ever freed.
A portrait of Marbury facing a portrait of Madison hangs in the Supreme Court justices’ dining room – this was installed by Chief Justice Warren Burger in 1979.
