John James Marshall was an American lawyer, judge, politician, diplomat, legislator, statesman, jurist and military. He served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 to 1835 and also served as the United States Secretary of State.
When Marshall was Chief Justice, he helped shaping the American judicial system, specially with the rights of the citizens, he also expanded the Court's jurisdiction to make it an integral part of the federal system of checks and balances, before that the Court didn't have substantial authority. He gave the Supreme Court authority over every legislature and court in the nation and gave power to throw out laws that contradicted the constitution. That way the Judicial, Executive and Legislative Branches were equals.
