Image Credit: James Madison Bust by F. William Sievers, Virginia State Capitol Richmond, VA

James Madison was Thomas Jefferson's Secretary of State. At that time, there was no Department of Justice: the Department of State, headed by Madison, performed duties that today would fall to that department. Thus it was James Madison who withheld Marbury's commission, and it was Madison whom William Marbury sued for the commission.

Otherwise, James Madison's role in the precedent setting case was minimal. He refused to accept the jurisdiction of the court in this matter and refused even to appear in court.

If John Marshall had decided the case by ordering the commission to be delivered, Madison's role would have been different. It would have been Madison's task to enforce the decision on himself, as strange as that might seem. Undoubtedly he would have refused, and a very different precedent would have been set by Madison. James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution" and architect of the Bill of Rights, would have asserted that the Court had no authority over the executive. He would have been supported in this assertion by Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence and highly popular President.

The Marbury decision, however, required no enforcement. James Madison's role was minimal, and the Court had asserted the right of judicial review of acts of Congress in [William] Marbury v. [James] Madison. It would not assert this right again until after Madison's death.