Final answer:
Thomas Jefferson prevented his Secretary of State from delivering official paperwork to the judges-to-be because he didn't want members of the opposing party to take office. The Supreme Court ruled that the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the case of Marbury v. Madison, Thomas Jefferson, the President of the United States at that time, prevented his Secretary of State from delivering official paperwork to the judges-to-be because he didn't want members of the opposing party to take office. Marbury, one of Adams' appointees, sued James Madison, the Secretary of State, for not delivering his commission as a justice of the peace. The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice John Marshall, ruled that Marbury was entitled to his commission, but they also declared that the section of the Judiciary Act of 1789 that granted such power to the court was unconstitutional.
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