Question

What were the midnight appointments and how did they lead to judicial review?

Answer 1

The Midnight Appointments were a series of last minute appointments by outgoing President John Adams as the Federalists were leaving power.

The Midnight Appointments teed up the case Marbury v. Madison, as Marbury was one of the appointments and Democratic-Republican James Madison did not honor the appointment.

The case Marbury v. Madison is the first example of the doctrine of Judicial Review and the Supreme Court reviewed the actions of the Executive branch to determine the Constitutionality of Madison's actions.