Roger B. Taney

SUPREME COURT CASES Marbury v. Madison (1803, Marshall). The court established its role as the arbiter of the constitutionality of federal laws, the principle is known as judicial review (see also Federalist Papers, 78). Fletcher v. Peck (1810, Marshall). The decision stems from the Yazoo land cases, 1803, and upholds the sanctity of contracts. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819, Marshall). The Court ruled that states cannot tax the federal government, i.e. the Bank of the United States; the phrase "the power to tax is the power to destroy"; confirmed the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States.