Editing Fletcher v. Peck (section)

==Court ruling==
The Supreme Court unanimously (with a separate concurring opinion written by [[William Johnson (judge)|William Johnson]]) ruled that the legislature's repeal of the law was unconstitutional. [[John Marshall]] wrote that the sale was a binding [[contract]], which under Article I, Section 10, Clause I (the [[Contract Clause]]) of the [[US Constitution|Constitution]], cannot be invalidated even if it is illegally secured.<ref>https://www.oyez.org/cases/1789-1850/10us87 {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref>

The ruling lent further protection to [[property rights]] against popular pressure and is the earliest case of the Court asserting its right to invalidate state laws which are in conflict with or are otherwise contrary to the Constitution. A later Chief Justice, [[William H. Rehnquist]], wrote that ''Fletcher v. Peck'' "represented an attempt by Chief Justice Marshall to extend the protection of the contract clause to infant business".<ref>[[William H. Rehnquist|Rehnquist, William]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080921203658/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/senate/judiciary/sh99-1067/324-325.pdf A Random Thought on the Segregation Cases], Memo to Justice [[Robert H. Jackson]]</ref>