Difference between revisions of "Fourth Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England"

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===by Sir Edward Coke===
 
===by Sir Edward Coke===
 
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[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Coke Sir Edward Coke] (1552–1634) enrolled in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford%27s_Inn Clifford's Inn] in 1571, transferred to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_Temple Inner Temple] in 1572, and was called to the bar in 1578.<ref>Allen D. Boyer, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/5826 "Coke, Sir Edward (1552–1634)"] in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2004- ), accessed Oct. 3, 2013. (Subscription required for access.</ref> One of the most prominent English lawyers in the 1580s and 1590s, he became solicitor-general in 1592<ref>Allen D. Boyer, ''Sir Edward Coke and the Elizabethan Age'' (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003), 216.</ref> and attorney-general in 1594. In 1606, after being created serjeant-at-law, Coke was appointed chief justice of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_Common_Pleas_%28England%29 Court of Common Pleas]. He was transferred, against his will, to chief justice of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_King%27s_Bench_%28England%29 Court of King's Bench]in 1613; he also became a member of the privy council.<ref>Boyer, "Coke, Sir Edward."</ref> After several political and judicial skirmishes with James I and Francis Bacon, Coke was suspended from the privy council and removed from the bench in 1616.<ref>Ibid.</ref> While he never returned to the bench, Coke did return to Parliament and was elected to that body four times from 1620 to 1629. During this time, he took a pivotal lead in creating and composing the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petition_of_Right Petition of Right]. "This document cited the Magna Carta and reminded Charles I that the law gave Englishmen their rights, not the king ... Coke’s petition focused on ... due process, protection from unjust seizure of property or imprisonment, the right to trial by jury of fellow Englishmen, and protection from unjust punishments or excessive fines."<ref>''Bill of Rights Institute'' website, s.v. "Petition of Right (1628)", accessed Oct. 3, 2013 http://billofrightsinstitute.org/resources/educator-resources/americapedia/americapedia-documents/petition-of-right/.</ref> After this triumph, Coke spent his remaining years at his home, Stoke Poges, working on ''The Institutes of the Laws of England'', another endeavor for which he is rightly famous.<ref>Boyer, "Coke, Sir Edward."</ref><br />
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[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Coke Sir Edward Coke] (1552–1634) enrolled in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford%27s_Inn Clifford's Inn] in 1571, transferred to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_Temple Inner Temple] in 1572, and was called to the bar in 1578.<ref>Allen D. Boyer, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/5826 "Coke, Sir Edward (1552–1634)"] in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2004- ), accessed Oct. 3, 2013. (Subscription required for access.)</ref> One of the most prominent English lawyers in the 1580s and 1590s, he became solicitor-general in 1592<ref>Allen D. Boyer, ''Sir Edward Coke and the Elizabethan Age'' (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003), 216.</ref> and attorney-general in 1594. In 1606, after being created serjeant-at-law, Coke was appointed chief justice of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_Common_Pleas_%28England%29 Court of Common Pleas]. He was transferred, against his will, to chief justice of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_King%27s_Bench_%28England%29 Court of King's Bench]in 1613; he also became a member of the privy council.<ref>Boyer, "Coke, Sir Edward."</ref> After several political and judicial skirmishes with James I and Francis Bacon, Coke was suspended from the privy council and removed from the bench in 1616.<ref>Ibid.</ref> While he never returned to the bench, Coke did return to Parliament and was elected to that body four times from 1620 to 1629. During this time, he took a pivotal lead in creating and composing the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petition_of_Right Petition of Right]. "This document cited the Magna Carta and reminded Charles I that the law gave Englishmen their rights, not the king ... Coke’s petition focused on ... due process, protection from unjust seizure of property or imprisonment, the right to trial by jury of fellow Englishmen, and protection from unjust punishments or excessive fines."<ref>''Bill of Rights Institute'' website, s.v. "Petition of Right (1628)", accessed Oct. 3, 2013 http://billofrightsinstitute.org/resources/educator-resources/americapedia/americapedia-documents/petition-of-right/.</ref> After this triumph, Coke spent his remaining years at his home, Stoke Poges, working on ''The Institutes of the Laws of England'', another endeavor for which he is rightly famous.<ref>Boyer, "Coke, Sir Edward."</ref><br />
 
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The ''Institutes'' found their way over to the colonies, and began to influence the minds of men like John Jay, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.<ref>Catherine Drinker Bowen, ''The Lion and The Throne: the life and times of Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634)''(Boston: Little, Brown, 1957), 514.</ref> The work by the “founding father of common law in England’s American colonies” paved the way law was taught to many of the people who founded the new nation.<ref>Boyer, Allen D. Law, Liberty, and Parliament : Selected Essays on the Writings of Sir Edward Coke. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2004.</ref> ''The Fourth Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England'' covers jurisdiction and offers instruction on which courts could hear certain cases. "Beginning with the High Court of Parliament, [Coke] travels through the whole mass of councils and courts, central and local, which administered justice in the king's name."<ref>W. S. Holdsworth, ''A History of English Law'' (London: Methuen & Co., Sweet and Maxwell, 1924), 5:470.</ref> Throughout the text, Coke emphasizes the primacy of the common law courts and reiterates views he had previously expressed on the bench.<ref>Ibid.</ref>
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The ''Institutes'' found their way over to the colonies, and began to influence the minds of men like John Jay, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.<ref>Catherine Drinker Bowen, ''The Lion and The Throne: the life and times of Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634)''(Boston: Little, Brown, 1957), 514.</ref> The work by the “founding father of common law in England’s American colonies” paved the way law was taught to many of the people who founded the new nation.<ref>Boyer, Allen D. Law, Liberty, and Parliament : Selected Essays on the Writings of Sir Edward Coke. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2004, 24.</ref> ''The Fourth Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England'' covers jurisdiction and offers instruction on which courts could hear certain cases. "Beginning with the High Court of Parliament, [Coke] travels through the whole mass of councils and courts, central and local, which administered justice in the king's name."<ref>W. S. Holdsworth, ''A History of English Law'' (London: Methuen & Co., Sweet and Maxwell, 1924), 5:470.</ref> Throughout the text, Coke emphasizes the primacy of the common law courts and reiterates views he had previously expressed on the bench.<ref>Ibid.</ref>
  
 
==Bibliographic Information==
 
==Bibliographic Information==

Revision as of 20:15, 26 October 2013

by Sir Edward Coke

Sir Edward Coke (1552–1634) enrolled in Clifford's Inn in 1571, transferred to the Inner Temple in 1572, and was called to the bar in 1578.[1] One of the most prominent English lawyers in the 1580s and 1590s, he became solicitor-general in 1592[2] and attorney-general in 1594. In 1606, after being created serjeant-at-law, Coke was appointed chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas. He was transferred, against his will, to chief justice of the Court of King's Benchin 1613; he also became a member of the privy council.[3] After several political and judicial skirmishes with James I and Francis Bacon, Coke was suspended from the privy council and removed from the bench in 1616.[4] While he never returned to the bench, Coke did return to Parliament and was elected to that body four times from 1620 to 1629. During this time, he took a pivotal lead in creating and composing the Petition of Right. "This document cited the Magna Carta and reminded Charles I that the law gave Englishmen their rights, not the king ... Coke’s petition focused on ... due process, protection from unjust seizure of property or imprisonment, the right to trial by jury of fellow Englishmen, and protection from unjust punishments or excessive fines."[5] After this triumph, Coke spent his remaining years at his home, Stoke Poges, working on The Institutes of the Laws of England, another endeavor for which he is rightly famous.[6]

The Institutes found their way over to the colonies, and began to influence the minds of men like John Jay, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.[7] The work by the “founding father of common law in England’s American colonies” paved the way law was taught to many of the people who founded the new nation.[8] The Fourth Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England covers jurisdiction and offers instruction on which courts could hear certain cases. "Beginning with the High Court of Parliament, [Coke] travels through the whole mass of councils and courts, central and local, which administered justice in the king's name."[9] Throughout the text, Coke emphasizes the primacy of the common law courts and reiterates views he had previously expressed on the bench.[10]

Bibliographic Information

Author: Sir Edward Coke.

Title: The Fourth Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England: Concerning the Jurisdiction of Courts.

Published: London: Printed by M. Flesher, for W. Lee, and D. Pakeman, 1644.

Edition:

Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy

Bound in contemporary calf with blind rules to boards and rebacked in period-style. Contains attractive woodcut head-pieces, tail-pieces and decorated initials. Purchased from the Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.

References

  1. Allen D. Boyer, "Coke, Sir Edward (1552–1634)" in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004- ), accessed Oct. 3, 2013. (Subscription required for access.)
  2. Allen D. Boyer, Sir Edward Coke and the Elizabethan Age (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003), 216.
  3. Boyer, "Coke, Sir Edward."
  4. Ibid.
  5. Bill of Rights Institute website, s.v. "Petition of Right (1628)", accessed Oct. 3, 2013 http://billofrightsinstitute.org/resources/educator-resources/americapedia/americapedia-documents/petition-of-right/.
  6. Boyer, "Coke, Sir Edward."
  7. Catherine Drinker Bowen, The Lion and The Throne: the life and times of Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634)(Boston: Little, Brown, 1957), 514.
  8. Boyer, Allen D. Law, Liberty, and Parliament : Selected Essays on the Writings of Sir Edward Coke. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2004, 24.
  9. W. S. Holdsworth, A History of English Law (London: Methuen & Co., Sweet and Maxwell, 1924), 5:470.
  10. Ibid.