A previous resource described the formal way of amending the Constitution. There is another way of changing the Constitution without amending it—changing our understanding of the meaning of the words already in the document. This is known as the unofficial amendment process for the Constitution. There are two basic ways to accomplish this: the implied powers of Congress and judicial review. Click on each tab to learn more.

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The Greatest Unofficial Amendment of Them All



A portrait of a middle aged man seated on a red chair wearing a black suit and holding a brown-leather bound book.

Source: John Marshall
by Henry Inman, Wikimedia

The most remarkable unofficial amendment to the Constitution is the existence of judicial review. Nowhere in the Constitution is the Supreme Court specifically granted the power to determine the constitutionality of laws.

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Instead, Chief Justice John Marshall asserted the power in his decision in the landmark 1803 Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison. The country quickly accepted that this ability was implied by Article III of the Constitution, giving the Supreme Court its most potent power. Judicial review was actually created by judicial review!