Edward Coke

Sir Edward Coke

Sir Edward Coke (pronounced "cook") (1 February 1552–3 September 1634), was an early English jurist, parliamentarian, and lawyer whose detailed writings on British common law served as the definitive legal texts for modern law thereafter. Coke is best known for his prevention of royal interference from manipulating the independence of common law courts, and for his revolutionary interpretation of the Magna Charta which he applied to all subjects equally. Coke was also prominent in the 1628 drafting of the Petition of Right and remained a lifelong rival to Sir Francis Bacon.

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).

Publications

• Coke, Edward. Coke's Institutes of the Laws of England. 7 vols. London: E. & R. Brooke, 1794.
• Coke, Edward. The First Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England. 2 vols. London: R. Pheney & S. Brooks, 1823.
• Coke, Edward. The Second Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England: Containing the Exposition of Many Ancient and Other Statues. Lawbook Exchange; Reprint Edition. © 2002. ISBN 158477200.
• Coke, Edward. The Third Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England: Concerning High Treason, and Other Pleas of the Crown and Criminal Causes. Lawbook Exchange; Reprint Edition. © 2002. ISBN 1584772018.
• Coke, Edward. The Fourth Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England: Concerning the Jurisdiction of Courts. Lawbook Exchange; Reprint Edition. © 2002. ISBN 1584772026.
• Coke, Edward. Oracle of the Law. Houghton Mifflin Co. © 1929.
• Coke, Edward and Sheppard, S. (Editor). The Selected Writings of Sir Edward Coke. Liberty Fund Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0865973164.
• Coke, Edward, Thomas, J. and Fraser, J. The Reports of Sir Edward Coke. Lawbook Exchange; Reprint Edition. © 2002. ISBN 1584772395.
• Coke, Edward. Coke on Magna Carta: The Common Law. Gordon Press Publishing. © 1979. ISBN 084902885.
• Coke, Edward. The Lord Coke and His Speech and Charge. Da Capo Press. © 1972.

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

• Encyclopedia of World Biography | Edward Coke. Bookrags.com
• Sir Edward Coke University of Montevallo.
• Edward Coke and Righteous Interposition. Dan Ford, January 6, 2004.

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