Date of Award
5-1976
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
History
Abstract
In Sir Edward Coke's earlier days, he too had been a supporter of the sanctity of the crown. In 1603, when Coke was Attorney-General, he prosecuted Sir Walter Raleigh for treason, In the trial Coke tried to ride roughshod over the defendant. With vigor he attacked Raleigh with remarks that were "shameful and unworthy " of a man in his position. He was also careless at the quality of the evidence upon which he based his assertions. With such judicial intimidation, the Attorney-General was able to secure a verdict of guilty for the crown.
Coke's independent nature helped make the first half of the seventeenth century the turning-point in English constitutional and legal history. This paper will deal with some of those constitutional conflicts involving Sir Edward Coke that helped to transform English law.
Recommended Citation
Beers, Francis Reames, "Arbitrator of constitutional crisis : a study of Edward Coke: 1607-1628" (1976). Master's Theses. 401.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/masters-theses/401