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Joy English · Level B2 · Pemerintahan dan sejarahjoy-english.com

Tahun-tahun awal Mahkamah Agung AS

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Baca kutipan laporan VOA Learning English tentang tahun-tahun awal Mahkamah Agung AS yang belum menentu dan sebuah kasus terkenal pada 1803.

The Rise of the US Supreme Court

At first, Americans were not sure how important the Supreme Court would be. Not very, some thought.

The court did not even have its own building, but moved from place to place. For a while, it operated out of the U.S. Capitol building in a meeting room lawmakers were not using.

And the position of Supreme Court justice was not highly valued.

One of the first justices, John Jay, resigned from the Supreme Court to become the governor of New York. Later, the president asked Jay to return to the high court. Jay said no. The idea of the federal judiciary had too many problems, he said. He did not think the Supreme Court could ever earn the public’s trust.

So the president at the time, John Adams, asked someone else, John Marshall, to be a Supreme Court justice.

That decision turned out to be very important. During his 34 years in office, beginning in 1801, John Marshall helped shape and strengthen the Supreme Court. One of his most historic decisions came in 1803. That year, Marshall wrote the opinion on a case called Marbury versus Madison.

The case related to a man named William Marbury. He had been offered a government job at the last minute by an outgoing president. The new president and his secretary of state, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, did not want to give Marbury the position for political reasons. But Marbury believed an earlier act of Congress required the president to appoint him. So Marbury took the dispute all the way to the Supreme Court.

The justices at the time agreed that Marbury should get the job. But they did not order Jefferson and Madison to give it to him. Instead, the justices believed, the earlier act of Congress violated the Constitution. So the whole idea behind Marbury’s case could not be justified.

That decision was historic, not because Marbury lost his case, but because of what it said about the Supreme Court. The chief justice claimed the court’s right to tell the rest of the federal government what the Constitution permits them to do.

Pahami teksnya

Baca teksnya. Pilih jawaban yang benar.

  1. In its early years, the Supreme Court had its own building.
    • a) True
    • b) False
  2. Why did John Jay leave the Supreme Court?
    • a) To become the governor of New York
    • b) To become president
    • c) Because of poor health
  3. Why did Jay refuse to return to the court?
    • a) The salary was too low.
    • b) He did not think the court could ever earn the public's trust.
    • c) He was too old to work.
  4. For how long was John Marshall in office?
    • a) Four years
    • b) Eighteen years
    • c) 34 years
  5. Who had offered William Marbury a government job?
    • a) Thomas Jefferson
    • b) An outgoing president
    • c) James Madison
    • d) John Jay
  6. What did the justices decide about the earlier act of Congress?
    • a) It was a good law.
    • b) It should apply to all government jobs.
    • c) It violated the Constitution.
  7. Did the court order Jefferson and Madison to give Marbury the job?
    • a) No
    • b) Yes
    • c) The text does not say.
  8. Why was the decision in Marbury versus Madison historic?
    • a) Because Marbury lost his case
    • b) Because the court claimed the right to tell the government what the Constitution permits
    • c) Because Jefferson changed his mind about Marbury

Kata dan detail

Pilih jawaban terbaik, atau ketik satu kata atau angka dari teks.

  1. "The position of Supreme Court justice was not highly valued." This means that ...
    • a) many people did not think the job was very important
    • b) the job was easy to do
    • c) only lawyers could do the job
  2. "That decision turned out to be very important." This means it ...
    • a) was expected to be very important
    • b) was later shown to be very important
    • c) was said not to be important
  3. John Marshall's time in office began in ___.
  4. Marshall helped "shape and strengthen" the court. Here, shape means ...
    • a) draw pictures of
    • b) move to a new building
    • c) influence how something develops
  5. Marbury took the ___ all the way to the Supreme Court.
  6. "The whole idea behind Marbury's case could not be justified." Justified means ...
    • a) shown to be right or reasonable
    • b) paid for
    • c) written down

Kunci jawaban

Pahami teksnya

  1. b) FalsePengadilan itu bahkan tidak punya gedung sendiri, melainkan berpindah dari satu tempat ke tempat lain.
  2. a) To become the governor of New YorkJohn Jay mengundurkan diri dari Mahkamah Agung untuk menjadi gubernur New York.
  3. b) He did not think the court could ever earn the public's trust.Ia mengatakan bahwa peradilan federal punya terlalu banyak masalah dan tidak yakin pengadilan itu akan pernah mendapat kepercayaan publik.
  4. c) 34 yearsTeks menyebutkan: During his 34 years in office, beginning in 1801.
  5. b) An outgoing presidentMarbury ditawari jabatan pada menit terakhir oleh presiden yang akan lengser. Jefferson dan Madison tidak mau memberinya jabatan itu.
  6. c) It violated the Constitution.Para hakim agung berpendapat bahwa undang-undang Kongres yang terdahulu melanggar Konstitusi.
  7. a) NoTeks menyebutkan: But they did not order Jefferson and Madison to give it to him.
  8. b) Because the court claimed the right to tell the government what the Constitution permitsKasus itu bersejarah bukan karena Marbury kalah, melainkan karena pengadilan menyatakan berhak memberi tahu pemerintah federal apa yang diizinkan Konstitusi.

Kata dan detail

  1. a) many people did not think the job was very importantKalau sesuatu is not highly valued, orang tidak menganggapnya terlalu penting.
  2. b) was later shown to be very importantTurn out to be berarti sesuatu ditemukan atau terbukti benar di kemudian hari.
  3. 1801Masa jabatannya selama 34 tahun dimulai pada 1801.
  4. c) influence how something developsShape sesuatu berarti memengaruhi cara sesuatu berkembang.
  5. dispute / caseTeks menyebutkan: Marbury took the dispute all the way to the Supreme Court. Dispute adalah perselisihan yang serius.
  6. a) shown to be right or reasonableKalau sesuatu is justified, ada alasan yang kuat yang menunjukkan bahwa hal itu benar.

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