Edward Coke

Edward Coke (1552-1634), English jurist, considered one of the most eminent of all English jurists and best known as a compiler of the law. Often called Lord Coke or Lord Cooke, he was born at Mileham, in Norfolk, on February 1, 1552, and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge University. He was admitted to the Bar in 1578, became a Member of Parliament in 1589, then solicitor-general in 1592. He was appointed Speaker of the House of Commons prior to becoming attorney-general, having competed for the latter appointment with the English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon; this victory was the beginning of a long-standing rivalry between the two men. Coke’s first years as representative of the Crown were characterized by ruthless support of authority—his prosecutions of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, of the English statesman, courtier, and writer Sir Walter Raleigh, and of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators have been termed severe.

In 1606 Coke was made chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas. Thereafter he vigorously championed the common law against all other authority, even against the royal prerogative and the privilege of the Church. In 1613 King James I promoted Coke to the Privy Council and to the office of chief justice of the King’s Bench, thinking that Coke would be more easily managed in this post, but Coke continued to clash with the Crown. In 1616, at the instigation of Bacon (then attorney-general), charges on relatively minor issues were brought against him, and he was removed from office. The following year, however, Coke was reappointed to the Privy Council, and after his re-election to Parliament in 1620 he once again challenged royal authority. The following year Coke helped impeach Bacon, then Lord Chancellor. He was also a leader in a debate urging that Parliament should not be subservient to the king. A few years later, Coke helped to write the Petition of Right, the most explicit statement of the principles of liberty to appear in England up to that time. It became an integral part of the English constitution. Coke’s writings also influenced the early legal system of Colonial America. He died on September 3, 1634, in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire.

Coke was a stern but able judge. His compilations of the law took the form of Reports on the cases he heard (1600-1615, 1656-1659); and four volumes of the Institutes of the Laws of England (1628-1644), analyses of legal statutes, criminal law, and court jurisdiction.