A dispute over one undelivered job gave US courts the power to strike down laws

William Marbury had been appointed a justice of the peace, but his paperwork was never delivered before the new administration took over. When he sued, Chief Justice John Marshall ruled in 1803 that the law Marbury relied on was itself unconstitutional, establishing that courts can void acts of Congress. Marbury never got his job; the US Supreme Court got judicial review.

— Supreme Court of the United States, Marbury v. Madison — 5 U.S. 137 (1803)