When the cases in 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) were decided, the Court comprised these six justices: Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (1803), is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review in the United States, meaning that American courts have the power to strike down laws, statutes, and some government actions that they find to violate the Constitution of the United States.

Decided in 1803, Marbury remains the single most important decision in American constitutional law.

Stuart v. Laird, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 299 (1803), is a case decided by the Supreme Court a week after its famous decision in Marbury v. Madison.

Stuart dealt with a judgment of a circuit judge whose position had been abolished by the repeal of the Judiciary Act of 1801.

The Court reviewed and upheld the constitutionality of the Judiciary Act of 1802 and averted a dangerous showdown between the legislative and the judicial branches of the United States government.