During the early republic, how did the Supreme Court influence constitutional interpretation?

• A. It minimized its role.
• B. It established judicial review and guided constitutional interpretation.
• C. It wrote most of the Constitution.
• D. It refused to hear any cases.

Answer: (B)

The Supreme Court's power to interpret the Constitution through judicial review was established in the early republic. This authority came from Marbury v. Madison, where the Court declared it could strike down laws that contradicted the Constitution. That ruling made the Court a central interpreter of constitutional meaning, guiding how the Constitution is applied to new issues and providing a check on the other branches. The other statements don’t fit because the Court didn’t minimize its role, didn’t write the Constitution, and did hear cases instead of refusing to hear them.