Having affirmed that Marbury's right to his
office vested when the President had signed, and the Secretary of State
had sealed the instrument, he pointed out that withholding the property
thus vested was a violation of civil rights which could be examined in a
court of justice. Were it otherwise, the Chief Justice insisted, the
government of the United States could not be termed a government of laws
and not of men.
All this elaborate introduction was in the nature of a solemn lecture by
the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to the President of the United
States upon his faulty discharge of his official duties. Having eased
his mind on this head, Marshall went on, very dexterously indeed, but
also very palpably, to elude the consequences of his temerity. He
continued: The right of property being established, and the violation of
that right clear, it is plain that a wrong has been committed, and it
only remains to determine whether that wrong can be redressed under this
form of procedure. We are of opinion that it cannot, because Congress
has no constitutional power to confer upon the Supreme Court original
jurisdiction in this class of litigation.
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