Marbury asked the Supreme Court to order Madison to deliver the commission . This case resulted from a petition to the Supreme Court by William Marbury , who had been appointed by President John Adams as Justice of the Peace in the District of Columbia but whose commission was not subsequently delivered . Marbury petitioned the Supreme Court to force Secretary of State James Madison to deliver the documents , but the court , with John Marshall as Chief Justice , denied Marbury 's petition , holding that the part of the statute upon which he based his claim , the Judiciary Act of 1789 , was unconstitutional .