Re: The Initiation of Judicial Review

[Mark Graber]

Professor Lipkin writes, .  If the original understanding of Art. III included the power of judicial review, why was is it necessary to explicitly include judicial review in the Judiciary Act of 1789?    The answer is rather simple.  The relevant statute gives the Supreme Court appellate jurisdiction over cases raising constitutional issues.  The constitution mandates that courts shall have the power to declare laws unconstitutional when deciding cases, but does not clearly indicate whether jurisdiction is mandatory (there is a big controversy on this).   MAG