Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Edward Coke" - New World

Revision as of 21:06, 9 April 2007

Sir Edward Coke

Sir Edward Coke (pronounced "cook") (1 February 1552–3 September 1634), was an early English jurist, parliamentarian, and lawyer whose writings on British common law often serve as the definitive legal texts for modern law and the various democratic Constitutions. Best known for his prevention of royal interference from manipulating the independence of common law courts, Coke’s revolutionary spirit can be found in such documents as the Magna Charta, the Petition of Right, and the U.S. Bill of Rights.

Life

Edward Coke was born the son of a British barrister in 1552 in Mileham, Norfolk. The sole son of eight children, Coke began his education at the Norwich School and later attended Trinity College, Cambridge from 1567 to 1571. Upon completion of his early education, Coke was admitted to the Inner Temple, a prestigious college of the University of Law where he would quickly rise from student to barrister and to the eventual position of senior member.

In 1582 Coke married the wealthy Bridget Paston whereupon he gained a great fortune in both money and land. The marriage would produce seven children, though Bridget would die just seven years later in 1589. Shortly after, Coke would marry the young Lady Elizabeth Hatton, granddaughter to close friend Baron Burghley, chief minister to Queen Elizabeth I. The marriage, which produced one daughter, would end in separation.

In his later years, Coke retired to Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire where he would die at the age of 82. Upon his death, Coke’s papers were seized by King Charles I. When released, his reports would serve as a monumental compilation of independent ideals and judicial principles that continue to define modern law today.

Work

In 1589 Coke became a member of Parliament, and in 1592 was appointed the Speaker of the House of Commons. One year later he would be appointed England's Attorney General, a prestigious post for which he competed with rival Sir Francis Bacon. During this period, Coke remained a zealous prosecutor, accepting famous cases of treason against Earls Henry Wriothesley and Robert Devereaux, as well as Sir Walter Raleigh and the Gunpowder Plot conspirators. In 1606 Coke was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and in 1613 was elevated to Chief Justice of the King's Bench, where he continued his defense of the English common law. It was during his time as Chief Justice that Coke first ruled common law to serve as supreme law for all parties including the monarchy.

Coke’s political rise came at the expense of rival Sir Francis Bacon, and in 1616, at the encouragement of Bacon, Coke was removed from the position of Chief Justice by King James I for his refusal to weigh the King’s judicial opinion in legal matters. In 1620 Coke again served as a member of parliament, but proved so troublesome to the crown that he was imprisoned for six months. Coke’s radicalism would persist and in 1628 was influential in helping to draft the British Petition of Right, a charter of liberties defining the supremacy of common law over the sentiments of aristocracy. Inclusive in these articles were a required parliamentary consent for taxation, and a statement of charges against those under arrest.

Under Coke's leadership, the British House of Commons forced Charles I of England to accept the Petition of Right by withholding the King’s revenues until he capitulated. The Petition of Right served as the forerunner of the English Bill of Rights and the U.S. Bill of Rights.

Legacy

Perhaps Coke's most lasting contribution to British law was his interpretation of the Magna Charta in which he applied to it not only the protection of nobles but of all subjects equally. This interpretation effectively established the law as a guarantor of rights among all subjects, including cases against Parliament and the King. Coke famously asserted: "Magna Charta is such a fellow, that he will have no sovereign."

Coke’s influential Reports (1600-1611, 1650-1659), compiled over forty years, served as the definitive legal texts of the time and can be shown to influence aspects of modern law today. These volumes, which incorporate notes on every case heard by Coke, also include judicial sentiments of earlier legislative hearings and are the basis for the contemporary legal reports of today. Additionally, Coke’s influential Institutes of the Laws of England (1628-1664) stands as the first accessible body of law to be published.

In 1620, copies of Coke's writings arrived in North America via the Mayflower. Each practicing lawyer within the English colonies and early United States was trained from Coke's writings, particularly his Reports and Institutes. His radical ideas also proved to play a large role in the American Revolution, influencing leaders such as John Adams, James Otis Jr. and Patrick Henry. These revolutionists used many of Coke’s ideas to nullify Parliament’s harmful regulations, to develop the U.S. Constitution and to define the power of Judicial Review, which serves to abolish any legislation in violation of the Constitution.

Famous quotations belonging to Coke include; "A man's house is his castle…and where shall a man be safe if it be not in his own house?” (Coke, The Institutes of the Laws of England), and "Reason is the life of the law; nay, the common law itself is nothing else but reason.... The law which is perfection of reason." (Coke, First Institute).

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Bowen, Catherine D. The Lion and the Throne: The Life and Times of Sir Edward Coke, 1552-1634. Little Brown and Co. Publishing: Boston, 1990. ISBN 0316103934.
Coke, Edward & Steve Sheppard (Ed.). The Selected Writings of Sir Edward Coke. Liberty Fund: Indianapolis, 2004. ISBN 0865973164.
West’s Encyclopedia of American Law. Sir Edward Coke. The Gale Group, Inc. 1998.

External Links

Sir Edward Coke and the Common Law. Timothy Sandefur.
Encyclopedia of World Biography | Edward Coke. Bookrags.com
Sir Edward Coke University of Montevallo.
Edward Coke and Righteous Interposition. Dan Ford, January 6, 2004.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

Edward_Coke ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

History of "Edward Coke"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 [[image:Coke.JPG|thumb|150pxl|Sir Edward Coke]]
-'''Sir Edward Coke''' (pronounced "cook") (1 February 1552&ndash;3 September 1634), was an early [[England|English]] colonial [[entrepreneur]] and [[jurist]] whose writings on the [[English common law]] were the definitive legal texts for some 300 years.  His influence stretched from Imperialistic Great Britian to Modern American Law, and his spirit can be found in such documents as the [[Magna Carta]], [[Petition of Right]], and the [[U.S. Bill of Rights]].  Sir Edward Coke's work was instrumental in the progress and developement of western society.
+'''Sir Edward Coke''' (pronounced "cook") (1 February 1552&ndash;3 September 1634), was an early [[England|English]] [[jurist]], [[parliamentarian]], and [[lawyer]] whose writings on [[British common law]] often serve as the definitive legal texts for modern law and the various democratic Constitutions. Best known for his prevention of royal interference from manipulating the independence of common law courts, Coke’s revolutionary spirit can be found in such documents as the [[Magna Charta]], the [[Petition of Right]], and the [[U.S. Bill of Rights]].
 ==Life==
-Coke was born at [[Mileham, Norfolk]], the son of a London barrister from a Norfolk family. He was educated at at [[Norwich_School%2C_Norwich|Norwich School]], and then [[Trinity College, Cambridge]].
+Edward Coke was born the son of a [[British]] [[barrister]] in 1552 in [[Mileham, Norfolk]]. The sole son of eight children, Coke began his education at the [[Norwich School]] and later attended [[Trinity College, Cambridge]] from 1567 to 1571. Upon completion of his early education, Coke was admitted to the [[Inner Temple]], a prestigious college of the [[University of Law]] where he would quickly rise from student to barrister and to the eventual position of [[senior member]].
-He became a [[Member of Parliament]] in 1589, [[Speaker of the British House of Commons|Speaker of the House of Commons]] in 1592 and was appointed  [[England]]'s [[Attorney General]] in 1593, a post for which he was in competition with his rival Sir [[Francis Bacon]]. During this period, he was a zealous prosecutor of Sir [[Walter Raleigh]] and of the [[Gunpowder Plot]] conspirators. He was appointed [[Chief Justice]] of the Court of Common Pleas in 1606. In 1613, he was elevated to Chief Justice of the King's Bench, where he continued his defense of the English [[common law]] against the encroachment by the ecclesiastical hierarchy, local courts controlled by the aristocracy, and meddling by the King.
+In 1582 Coke married the wealthy [[Bridget Paston]] whereupon he gained a great fortune in both money and land. The marriage would produce seven children, though Bridget would die just seven years later in 1589. Shortly after, Coke would marry the young [[Lady Elizabeth Hatton]], granddaughter to close friend [[Baron Burghley]], chief minister to [[Queen Elizabeth I]]. The marriage, which produced one daughter, would end in separation.
-Bacon encouraged the King to remove Coke as Chief Justice in 1616, for refusing to hold a case in abeyance until the King could give his own opinion in it. In 1620 Coke became an MP again, and proved so troublesome to the crown that he was imprisoned, along with other Parliamentary leaders, for six months. In 1628, he was one of the drafters of the ''[[Petition of Right]]''.
+In his later years, Coke retired to [[Stoke Poges]], Buckinghamshire where he would die at the age of 82. Upon his death, Coke’s papers were seized by [[King Charles I]]. When released, his reports would serve as a monumental compilation of independent ideals and judicial principles that continue to define modern law today.
-In 1606, Coke apparently helped write the charter of the [[Virginia Company]], a private venture granted a royal charter to found settlements in [[North America]]. He became director of the [[London Company]], one of the two branches of the Virginia Company.
 ==Work==
-One of Coke's greatest contributions to the law was to interpret ''[[Magna Carta]]'' to apply not only to the protection of nobles but to all subjects of the crown equally, which effectively established the law as a guarantor of rights among all subjects, even against Parliament and the King.  He famously asserted: "Magna Carta is such a fellow, that he will have no sovereign."
+In 1589 Coke became a member of [[Parliament]], and in 1592 was appointed the [[Speaker of the British House of Commons| Speaker of the House of Commons]]. One year later he would be appointed [[England]]'s [[Attorney General]], a prestigious post for which he competed with rival Sir [[Francis Bacon]]. During this period, Coke remained a zealous prosecutor, accepting famous cases of [[treason]] against Earls [[Henry Wriothesley]] and [[Robert Devereaux]], as well as Sir [[Walter Raleigh]] and the [[Gunpowder Plot]] conspirators. In 1606 Coke was appointed [[Chief Justice]] of the [[Court of Common Pleas]], and in 1613 was elevated to [[Chief Justice]] of the [[King's Bench]], where he continued his defense of the English [[common law]]. It was during his time as [[Chief Justice]] that Coke first ruled [[common law]] to serve as supreme law for all parties including the [[monarchy]].
-Among his most famous cases, Coke wrote ''[[Dr. Bonham's Case]]'', which has been much argued about by historians but which is seen by lawyers as the origin of [[judicial review]] of legislation. Coke's opinion in ''[[Calvin's Case]]'' established that subjects of Scotland born after King James VI became [[James I of England]] could hold land in England as well as in Scotland, because both Scots and Englishmen owed allegiance to the same king. This case would be important in supporting the idea that English colonists in North America would have the rights of Englishmen. He also wrote ''[[Semayne's Case]]'', the origin of many of the rights to freedom from arbitrary searches; the ''[[Case of the Monopolies]]'', important in anti-trust; ''[[Sutton's Hospital]]'', a seminal case in corporations law; and ''[[William Aldred's Case]]'', which may be the birth of environmental law. Published after his death, the ''Prohibitions del Roi'' detail his discussion with the King in which he (briefly) convinced a reluctant James that the law is based on "artificial reason" and must be left to lawyers to decide, rather than to the monarch.
+Coke’s political rise came at the expense of rival [[Sir Francis Bacon]], and in 1616, at the encouragement of Bacon, Coke was removed from the position of Chief Justice by [[King James I]] for his refusal to weigh the King’s judicial opinion in legal matters. In 1620 Coke again served as a member of parliament, but proved so troublesome to the crown that he was imprisoned for six months. Coke’s [[radicalism]] would persist and in 1628 was influential in helping to draft the British ''[[Petition of Right]]'', a charter of liberties defining the supremacy of common law over the sentiments of [[aristocracy]]. Inclusive in these articles were a required parliamentary consent for taxation, and a statement of charges against those under arrest.
-Under Coke's leadership, in 1628 the House of Commons forced [[Charles I of England]] to accept Coke's ''Petition of Right'' by withholding the revenues the king wanted until he capitulated. The [[Petition of Right]] was the forerunner of the [[English Bill of Rights]] and the [[U.S. Bill of Rights]].
+Under Coke's leadership, the British [[House of Commons]] forced [[Charles I of England]] to accept the ''Petition of Right'' by withholding the King’s revenues until he capitulated. The [[Petition of Right]] served as the forerunner of the [[English Bill of Rights]] and the [[U.S. Bill of Rights]].
 ==Legacy==
-Copies of Coke's writings arrived in [[North America]] on the [[Mayflower (ship)|Mayflower]] in 1620, and every lawyer in the English colonies and early United States was trained from Coke's books, particularly his ''Reports'' and ''[[Institutes of the Lawes of England|Institutes]]'' (see [[#References]] section below), the most famous of which was his property book, ''The First Institute of the Lawes of England, or a Commentary on Littleton''. Both [[John Adams]] and [[Patrick Henry]] argued from Coke treatises to support their revolutionary positions against the Mother Country in the 1770s.
+Perhaps Coke's most lasting contribution to [[British law]] was his interpretation of the ''[[Magna Charta]]'' in which he applied to it not only the protection of [[nobles]] but of all subjects equally. This interpretation effectively established the law as a guarantor of rights among all subjects, including cases against [[Parliament]] and the [[King]]. Coke famously asserted: "Magna Charta is such a fellow, that he will have no sovereign."
-The [[Delta Chi]] Fraternity considers Sir Edward Coke as its Spiritual Founder.
+Coke’s influential Reports (1600-1611, 1650-1659), compiled over forty years, served as the definitive legal texts of the time and can be shown to influence aspects of modern law today. These volumes, which incorporate notes on every case heard by Coke, also include judicial sentiments of earlier legislative hearings and are the basis for the contemporary legal reports of today. Additionally, Coke’s influential Institutes of the Laws of England (1628-1664) stands as the first accessible body of law to be published.
-* The quote believed to have led to the "castle exception" of [[Self-defense (theory)|self-defense]]:
+In 1620, copies of Coke's writings arrived in [[North America]] via the [[Mayflower (ship)|Mayflower]]. Each practicing lawyer within the [[English colonies]] and early [[United States]] was trained from Coke's writings, particularly his ''Reports'' and ''[[Institutes of the Laws of England|Institutes]]''. His radical ideas also proved to play a large role in the [[American Revolution]], influencing leaders such as [[John Adams]], [[James Otis Jr.]] and [[Patrick Henry]]. These revolutionists used many of Coke’s ideas to nullify Parliament’s harmful regulations, to develop the [[U.S. Constitution]] and to define the power of [[Judicial Review]], which serves to abolish any legislation in violation of the [[Constitution]].
-** "A man's [[house]] is his [[castle]] &ndash; ''et domus sua cuique est tutissimum refugium''  i.e. [[Latin]] for "and where shall a man be safe if it be not in his own house?” Sir Edward Coke, ''The First Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England, or, A Commentary on Littleton'' (London, 1628, ed. F. Hargrave and C. Butler, 19th ed., London, 1832)
-* His famous quote about the [[common law]]:
+Famous quotations belonging to Coke include; "''A man's [[house]] is his [[castle]]…and where shall a man be safe if it be not in his own house?''” (Coke, ''The Institutes of the Laws of England''), and "''Reason is the life of the law; nay, the common law itself is nothing else but reason.... The law which is perfection of reason''." (Coke, ''First Institute'').
-** "Reason is the life of the law; nay, the common law itself is nothing else but reason.... The law which is perfection of reason." (First Institute)
-* "The King himself should be under no man, but under God and the Law."
-* "The Law is the surest sanctuary that a man can take, and the strongest fortress to protect the weakest of all; ''Lex est tutissima cassis''."
 ==References==