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.

Available as a single volume or as part of the 10 volume set Supreme Court in American Society

Dougherty, J. Hampden. Power of Federal Judiciary Over Legislation. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1912. vii, 125 pp. Reprinted 2004 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. LCCN 2003052769. ISBN 1-58477-363-4. Cloth. $80. * "The modern assailants of judicial power will find little comfort in this volume. It consists mainly in a clear and able presentation of convincing evidence that the power of the courts to override laws repugnant to the spirit of the Constitution was directly contemplated by the framers of that instrument. It is apparent that the author has made a careful study of the Federal Convention of 1787 and in the state ratifying conventions that followed. He does not rest his case here, but proceeds with a discussion of other evidence in support of his position...": P.R.B., Yale Law Journal 22:67 cited in Marke, A Catalogue of the Law Collection at New York University 410.

Philip Hamburger’s Law and Judicial Duty traces the early history of what is today called "judicial review." The book sheds new light on a host of misunderstood problems, including intent, the status of foreign and international law, the cases and controversies requirement, and the authority of judicial precedent. The book is essential reading for anyone concerned about the proper role of the judiciary.

Kommers's comprehensive work surveys the development of German constitutional doctrine between 1949, when the Federal Constitutional Court was founded, and 1996. Extensively revised and expanded to take into account recent developments since German unification, this second edition describes the background, structure, and functions of the Court and provides extensive commentary on German constitutional interpretation, and includes translations of seventy-eight landmark decisions. These cases include the highly controversial religious liberty and free speech cases handed down in 1995.