Edward Coke
Sir Edward Coke ( , formerly ; 1 February 1552 – 3 September 1634) was an English barrister, judge, and politician. He is often considered the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras.Born into an upper-class family, Coke was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, before leaving to study at the Inner Temple, where he was called to the Bar on 20 April 1578. As a barrister, he took part in several notable cases, including ''Slade's Case'', before earning enough political favour to be elected to Parliament, where he served first as Solicitor General and then as Speaker of the House of Commons. Following a promotion to Attorney General he led the prosecution in several notable cases, including those against Robert Devereux, Sir Walter Raleigh, and the Gunpowder Plot conspirators. As a reward for his services he was first knighted and then made Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
As Chief Justice, Coke restricted the use of the ''ex officio'' (Star Chamber) oath and, in the ''Case of Proclamations'' and ''Dr. Bonham's Case'', declared the King to be subject to the law, and the laws of Parliament to be void if in violation of "common right and reason". These actions eventually led to his transfer to the Chief Justiceship of the King's Bench, where it was felt he could do less damage. Coke then successively restricted the definition of treason and declared a royal letter illegal, leading to his dismissal from the bench on 14 November 1616. With no chance of regaining his judicial posts, he instead returned to Parliament, where he swiftly became a leading member of the opposition. During his time as a Member of Parliament he wrote and campaigned for the Statute of Monopolies, which substantially restricted the ability of the monarch to grant patents, and authored and was instrumental in the passage of the Petition of Right, a document considered one of the three crucial constitutional documents of England, along with Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights 1689.
Coke is best known in modern times for his ''Institutes'', described by John Rutledge as "almost the foundations of our law", and his ''Reports'', which have been called "perhaps the single most influential series of named reports". Historically, he was a highly influential judge; within England and Wales, his statements and works were used to justify the right to silence, while the Statute of Monopolies is considered to be one of the first actions in the conflict between Parliament and monarch that led to the English Civil War. In America, Coke's decision in ''Dr. Bonham's Case'' was used to justify the voiding of both the Stamp Act 1765 and writs of assistance, which led to the American War of Independence; after the establishment of the United States his decisions and writings profoundly influenced the Third and Fourth amendments to the United States Constitution while necessitating the Sixteenth. Provided by Wikipedia
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by Coke, Edward
Published 1742
Published 1742
In the Savoy: printed by Henry Lintot, (assignee of Edward Sayer, Esq;) for T. Osborne
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by Coke, Edward
Published 1719
Published 1719
In the Savoy: printed by Eliz. Nutt and R. Gosling (assigns of Edw. Sayer, Esq;) for John Walthoe
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by Coke, Edward
Published 1775
Published 1775
printed for G Kearsly, near Srrjeant's-Inn [sic], in Fleet-Street; and G. Robinson, in Paternoster-Row
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by Coke, Edward
Published 1788
Published 1788
printed by T. Wright, for E. Brooke (successor to Messrs. Worrall and Tovey)
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by Coke, Edward
Published 1751
Published 1751
In the Savoy: printed by Henry Lintot, for D. Browne, without Temple-Bar; J. Shuckburgh, between the Temple-Gates; J. Whiston and B. White, in Fleet-Street
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by Coke, Edward
Published 1725
Published 1725
In the Savoy: printed by E. and R. Nutt, and R. Gosling, (assigns of Edw. Sayer, Esq;) for John Walthoe in the Middle-Temple-Cloysters
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by Coke, Edward
Published 1727
Published 1727
In the Savoy: printed by E. and R. Nutt, and R. Gosling, (assigns of Edw. Sayer Esq;) for D. Browne, J. Walthoe, B. Lintot, R. Gosling, W. Mears, T. Ward, W. Innys, J. Osborn, T. Woodward, F. Clay, T. Wotton, K. Williamson and A. Ward
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by Coke, Edward
Published 1738
Published 1738
[In the Savoy: printed by E. and R. Nutt, and R. Gosling, (assigns of Edward Sayer Esq;) for R. Gosling, W. Mears, W. Innys and R. Manby, T. Woodward, F. Clay, [and 8 others in London]
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by Coke, Edward
Published 1776
Published 1776
printed for J. and F. Rivington, in St. Paul's Church-Yard; W. Owen, G. Kearsly, and M. Waller, in Fleet-Street; W. Flexney, in Holborn; and G. Robinson, in Pater-Noster Row
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by Coke, Edward
Published 1736
Published 1736
In the Savoy: printed by E. and R. Nutt, and R. Gosling, (assigns of Edw. Sayer, Esq;) for T. Osborne, in Gray's Inn
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by Coke, Edward
Published 1719
Published 1719
Printed by Eliz. Dutt and R. Gosling, (Assigns of Edward Sayer Esq;) and are to be sold by B. Lintott, at the Cross-Keys, R. Gosling, at the Mitre and Crown, in Fleetstreet; and T. Ward, in the Inner-Temple-Lane