Source: Law & Liberty
by Jay Cost
“What is the proper role of the judiciary in American political life? There has never been a clear answer to that question, even among the founders. The Constitution itself has relatively little to say about the judiciary, delegating most of its design and much of its authority to congressional action. Alexander Hamilton in Federalist #78 argued that the judiciary could resolve disputes arising under the Constitution. But James Madison in Federalist #51 suggested that many such questions should be settled by the political process. Thomas Jefferson, in retirement, was aghast at the sweeping rhetoric of McCulloch v. Maryland, in which his cousin, Chief Justice John Marshall, employed Hamiltonian reasoning to legitimize the Bank of the United States.” (01/26/26)