Our judges are as honest as other men, and not more so. They have, with others, the same passions for party, for power, and the privilege of their corps [group of people]. . . . and their power the more dangerous as they are in office for life, and not responsible, as the other functionaries are, to the elective control.
—Thomas Jefferson, Letter to William Charles Jarvis, Sept. 28, 1820
Use the excerpt to answer the question.
This excerpt comes from a letter Jefferson wrote in response to the Supreme Court’s decision on Marbury v. Madison. What was Jefferson’s greatest concern?
A. He was concerned that the decision gave the Supreme Court too much authority.
B. He was concerned by the fact that judges were not elected.
C. He was concerned that judges could be easily influenced by political parties.
D. He was concerned that the decision set a dangerous precedent for cases heard by the Supreme Court.
To answer this question, we can analyze the excerpt from Thomas Jefferson's letter. Jefferson expresses several concerns about the judges in this letter. He mentions that the judges have the same passions for party, power, and privilege as other men. He further emphasizes that their power is dangerous because they hold their positions for life and are not accountable to any elective control.
Considering these words, Jefferson's greatest concern can be inferred as follows. He is concerned that the judges, being in office for life and not responsible to elective control, possess a great amount of power that is unchecked and potentially dangerous. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is option D: He was concerned that the decision set a dangerous precedent for cases heard by the Supreme Court.