Discuss the events leading up to, legal questions addressed by, and historical significance of Marbury v. Madison.

Marbury v. Madison was a landmark Supreme Court case in 1803 that established the principle of judicial review in the United States. The events leading up to the case began in 1800 when President John Adams appointed William Marbury as a justice of the peace for the District of Columbia. However, Marbury's commission was not delivered before Adams left office, and the new Secretary of State, James Madison, refused to deliver it under the new administration of President Thomas Jefferson.

Marbury then filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court, seeking a writ of mandamus to force Madison to deliver his commission. The legal question addressed by the case was whether the Supreme Court had the authority to issue such a writ, and more broadly, whether the Judiciary Act of 1789, which granted the Court this power, was constitutional.

In its decision, the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice John Marshall, ruled that the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional because it expanded the Court's original jurisdiction beyond what was allowed by the Constitution. This established the principle of judicial review, giving the Court the power to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional.

The historical significance of Marbury v. Madison cannot be overstated. It firmly established the Supreme Court as the ultimate authority on the meaning of the Constitution and the arbiter of the constitutionality of laws. This decision has had a lasting impact on the balance of power between the branches of government and has shaped the development of American constitutional law. It also solidified the Court's role as a check on the power of the other branches of government, ensuring that they adhere to the limits set by the Constitution.