Edward Coke

Lore & Background

Edward Coke was born on 1 February 1552 in his father's manor of Mileham in Norfolk, one of eight children—all the others were daughters: Winifred, Dorothy, Elizabeth, Ursula, Anna, Margaret, and Ethelreda. His father, Robert Coke, was a barrister and Bencher of Lincoln's Inn; his mother, Winifred Knightley, came from a family linked to the law. After his father died on 15 November 1561, his mother married Robert Bozoun, a property trader who taught Coke to 'loathe concealers, prefer godly men and briskly do business with any willing client'. At age eight in 1560, Coke began at Norwich Free Grammar School, learning rhetoric and Greek centred on Homer and Virgil. He matriculated to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1567, studying for three years until the end of 1570, leaving without a degree. He then joined Clifford's Inn in 1571, transferring to the Inner Temple on 24 April 1572, and was called to the Bar on 20 April 1578—a remarkably fast pace, as legal education normally required eight years. His first case was Lord Cromwell's Case in 1581 in the Court of King's Bench, where he forced a settlement and later described it in his Reports as 'an excellent point of learning in actions of slander'. The next year he was elected Reader of Lyon's Inn, surprising given his young age. As a barrister, he took part in Slade's Case before entering Parliament, serving as Solicitor General and Speaker of the House of Commons. As Attorney General, he led prosecutions against Robert Devereux, Sir Walter Raleigh, and the Gunpowder Plot conspirators. Knighted, he became Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, where he restricted the ex officio (Star Chamber) oath and, in the Case of Proclamations and Dr. Bonham's Case, declared the King subject to the law and acts of Parliament void if against 'common right and reason'. Transferred to the Chief Justiceship of the King's Bench, he restricted the definition of treason and declared a royal letter illegal, leading to his dismissal on 14 November 1616. Returning to Parliament, he became a leading opposition member, writing and campaigning for the Statute of Monopolies and authoring the Petition of Right, considered one of the three crucial constitutional documents of England along with Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights 1689. His Institutes were described by John Rutledge as 'almost the foundations of our law', and his Reports as 'perhaps the single most influential series of named reports'. His works justified the right to silence in England and Wales, and the Statute of Monopolies is considered one of the first actions in the conflict leading to the English Civil War. In America, his decision in Dr. Bonham's Case was used to justify voiding the Stamp Act 1765 and writs of assistance, leading to the American War of Independence; his writings profoundly influenced the Third and Fourth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution while necessitating the Sixteenth.

Reader's Guide

Sir Edward Coke's significance lies in his assertion of the rule of law over royal prerogative. As Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, he restricted the ex officio (Star Chamber) oath and, in the Case of Proclamations and Dr. Bonham's Case, declared the King subject to the law and acts of Parliament void if against 'common right and reason'. These actions led to his transfer to the King's Bench, where he restricted the definition of treason and declared a royal letter illegal, resulting in his dismissal on 14 November 1616. Returning to Parliament, he wrote and campaigned for the Statute of Monopolies, which restricted the monarch's power to grant patents, and authored the Petition of Right, a document considered one of the three crucial constitutional documents of England. His Institutes, described by John Rutledge as 'almost the foundations of our law', and his Reports, called 'perhaps the single most influential series of named reports', became core texts. In America, his decision in Dr. Bonham's Case was used to justify voiding the Stamp Act 1765 and writs of assistance, contributing to the American War of Independence. His writings profoundly influenced the Third and Fourth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution while necessitating the Sixteenth. His career illustrates the tension between judicial independence and royal authority, and his legacy endures in both British and American legal systems.

Did You Know?

• Coke was called to the Bar on 20 April 1578 after only six years of study, remarkably fast since legal education normally required eight years.
• His first case, Lord Cromwell's Case in 1581, was a slander action where he forced a settlement and later called it 'an excellent point of learning in actions of slander' in his Reports.
• Coke's stepfather Robert Bozoun taught him to 'loathe concealers, prefer godly men and briskly do business with any willing client'.
• He was dismissed from the bench on 14 November 1616 after restricting the definition of treason and declaring a royal letter illegal.
• In America, Coke's decision in Dr. Bonham's Case was used to justify voiding both the Stamp Act 1765 and writs of assistance.