What is the basis of the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review?
• The power of judicial review is the power of the federal courts to determine the constitutionality of federal or state laws, or whether public officers have acted within their authority. • The power of judicial review is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, but was established in Marbury v Madison. • After initial reluctance, the Supreme Court has allowed Congress to delegate significant power to the executive. • In 2004, the Supreme Court affirmed the unilateral power of the president to declare U.S. citizens to be “enemy combatants” who could be detained with fewer constitutional rights. II. How does the power of judicial review make the Supreme Court a lawmaking body? • Over the centuries, judges have developed “common law,” a body of rules and principles of interpretation that are not based on statutes, but on precedents and tradition. • In reviewing the actions of government, the Supreme Court interprets the very meaning of the Constitution and thereby become lawmaker
