"Judicial Review"
"Judicial Review"
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the review by a court of law of some act, or failure to act, by a government official
or entity, or by some other legally appointed person or organized body; the review of the decision of a trial court by an
appellate court.
In a constitutional law context, judicial review expresses the concept first articulated in
Marbury v Madison, 5 US (1 Cranch) 137 (1803) that it is "the province and the duty of the judicial department to say what
the law is." Under this doctrine the US Supreme Court and the highest courts of every state have assumed the power and
responsibility to decide the constitutionality of the acts of the legislative and executive branches of their respective
jurisdictions.
Source: Barron's Dictionary of Legal Terms, Steven H. Gifis, 5th Edition; © 2016
