An Essay on Judicial Power and Unconstitutional Legislation: Being a Commentary on Parts of the Constitution of the United States

Coxe's main argument is that the "Constitution contains express texts providing for judicial competency to decide questioned legislation to be constitutional or unconstitutional and to hold it valid or void accordingly" (4). There are four subordinate arguments: First, that the framers of the constitution specifically granted the courts the power to hold a law unconstitutional by dint of the Supremacy Clause and by Article III, Section 2 defining judicial power. Second, that documents written before the constitution were influential in framing the text and establishing the idea of judicial review. The third looks at the era before and during the confederation with an eye toward the court's power to rule on constitutionality. The fourth argument finds analogies and precedents in foreign law, including Roman and Canon law.