And it is the best expedient which can be devised in any government, to secure a steady, upright, and impartial administration of the laws. In a monarchy it is an excellent barrier to the despotism of the prince in a republic it is a no less excellent barrier to the encroachments and oppressions of the representative body.

The standard of good behavior for the continuance in office of the judicial magistracy, is certainly one of the most valuable of the modern improvements in the practice of government. Selected byĪccording to the plan of the convention, all judges who may be appointed by the United States are to hold their offices DURING GOOD BEHAVIOR which is conformable to the most approved of the State constitutions and among the rest, to that of this State. Madison (1803), Hamilton’s essay remains the most famous defense of judicial review in American history, and it even served as the basis for many of Chief Justice John Marshall’s arguments in Marbury itself. And with judicial review, federal judges had the power to review the constitutionality of the laws and actions of the government-ensuring that they met the requirements of the new Constitution. With judicial independence, the Constitution put barriers in place-like life tenure and salary protections-to ensure that the federal courts were independent from the control of the elected branches.

On the other hand, he also emphasized the importance of an independent judiciary and the power of judicial review.

On the one hand, Hamilton defined the judicial branch as the “least dangerous” branch of the new national government. On May 28, 1788, Alexander Hamilton published Federalist 78-titled “The Judicial Department.” In this famous Federalist Paper essay, Hamilton offered, perhaps, the most powerful defense of judicial review in the American constitutional canon.

The papers of alexander hamilton