 On April 10 , 1826 , Rowan sponsored an amendment to legislation to reorganize the federal judiciary that would have required seven justices to concur with a decision in order to strike down a law as unconstitutional . The amendment , which ultimately failed , was offered in the aftermath of a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States declaring an occupying claimant law to be unconstitutional ; Rowan personally disagreed with the Court 's decision . Rowan offered another amendment providing that ministers of the federal courts would be subject to state laws when carrying out the decisions of the federal courts . After a month of debate , the entire bill was tabled . 
