Federalist No. 78 (1788) is Alexander Hamilton's defense of the federal judiciary as the Constitution designs it, and in particular of judges holding office during good behavior. Hamilton argues that the judiciary, lacking control of either the military or the treasury, is the weakest and least dangerous branch, and so needs permanent tenure to stay independent of the other two. He then explains why courts must be able to set aside laws that conflict with the Constitution: a legislature acts only under powers delegated by the people, so an act beyond those powers is void, and judges who treat the Constitution as fundamental law must prefer it to an ordinary statute. This, he insists, does not place judges above lawmakers, but places the people's will above both, and it makes independent judges the necessary guardians of a limited Constitution.
Original summary for this showcase, informed by public sources including Wikipedia.
Read more: Federalist No. 78 on Wikipedia · Full text: Federalist No. 78 at Project Gutenberg
Alexander Hamilton (1755 or 1757–1804) was an American statesman, a New York delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. Born in the West Indies, he served as George Washington's aide during the Revolutionary War and became the most forceful advocate of a strong national government. He planned The Federalist, recruited James Madison and John Jay to write it with him, and wrote fifty-one of its eighty-five essays, including those on the executive and the judiciary. He was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804.
Original summary for this showcase, informed by public sources including Wikipedia.
Read more: Alexander Hamilton on Wikipedia
Federalist No. 78 (1788) is Alexander Hamilton's defense of the federal judiciary as the Constitution designs it, and in particular of judges holding office during good behavior. Hamilton argues that the judiciary, lacking control of either the military or the treasury, is the weakest and least dangerous branch, and so needs permanent tenure to stay independent of the other two. He then explains why courts must be able to set aside laws that conflict with the Constitution: a legislature acts only under powers delegated by the people, so an act beyond those powers is void, and judges who treat the Constitution as fundamental law must prefer it to an ordinary statute. This, he insists, does not place judges above lawmakers, but places the people's will above both, and it makes independent judges the necessary guardians of a limited Constitution.
Original summary for this showcase, informed by public sources including Wikipedia.
Read more: Federalist No. 78 on Wikipedia · Full text: Federalist No. 78 at Project Gutenberg