The Political Question Doctrine: Historical Background (Part 2)

"This Legal Sidebar is the second in a six-part series that discusses the Supreme Court’s political question doctrine, which instructs that federal courts should forbear from resolving questions when doing so would require the judiciary to make policy decisions, exercise discretion beyond its competency, or encroach on powers the Constitution vests in the legislative or executive branches. By limiting the range of cases federal courts can consider, the political question doctrine is intended to maintain the separation of powers and recognize the roles of the legislative and executive branches in interpreting the Constitution. Understanding the political question doctrine may assist Members of Congress in recognizing when actions of Congress or the executive branch would not be subject to judicial review. For additional background on this topic and citations to relevant sources, please see the Constitution of the UnitedStates, Analysis and Interpretation.

The political question doctrine has its origins in the foundational case for judicial review, Marbury v.Madison. Marbury involved a suit seeking to force Secretary of State James Madison to deliver a signed commission to a newly appointed official, William Marbury. The commission had been signed by the previous Administration but not delivered. Following the change in presidential Administrations, Madison refused to deliver it. Among the issues presented in that case was whether the Court even had the authority to adjudicate the legality of Madison’s refusal to deliver the commission. That question, according to Chief Justice Marshall’s opinion for the Court, turned on “the nature” of the government action in question. As the Court explained, “Questions, in their nature political, or which are, by the constitution and laws, submitted to the executive, can never be made in this court.” Thus, if the act of an official is one in which the “executive possesses a constitutional or legal discretion, nothing can be more perfectly clear that their acts are only politically examinable.” However, if a “specific duty is assigned by law, and individual rights depend on the performance of that duty,” then injured individuals have a right to resort to the courts. According to the Chief Justice, “[t]he power of nominating to the senate, and the power of appointing the person nominated” were political questions, and fundamentally unreviewable. By contrast, “if, for example, Mr. Marbury had taken the oaths of a magistrate, and proceeded to act as one; in consequence of which a suit had been instituted against him, in which his defense had depended on his being a magistrate, the validity of his appointment must have been determined by judicial authority.” Ultimately, the Court concluded that the question of whether to deliver Marbury’s commission was not a political one, as Marbury had a legal right in the appointment..."
Supreme Court Political Doctrine(Pt. 2)