What are the Facts of Marbury v. Madison?

One of the most familiar features of the first year class in constitutional law, or indeed, in any first year subject, is the ritual practice of asking young law students to state the facts of cases. Not surprisingly, one of the first cases that students often encounter in their study of constitutional law is Marbury v. Madison, and so it is no surprise that Marbury is one of the first situations in which law students are asked to state the facts of the case