History: At this time in American history the separate branches of the Fed government were still trying to understand their power relationship.  Moreover, prior to this case, the Supreme Court was not highly respected… Marshall, in essence was combating a case in which, if he were to decide in favor of Marbury, he would have to rely on the current administration to respect and obey the Court’s ruling.  The outcome in Marbury essentially created and soundly self-validated the role of the Court as the authority on the constitutionality of the laws, a position termed judicial review.