Who was Sir Edward Coke?
Coke (1552-1634, pronounced ‘Cook’) was the son of Norfolk barrister. After studying at Cambridge, he became an MP, Speaker of the House of Commons, Attorney-General, and Chief Justice. He was also active in setting legal and commercial frameworks for the ventures in North America. As Chief Justice he upheld common law against attempts to override it by the rich and powerful. But after refusing to wait for the king’s opinion on a case in 1616, he was was dismissed. However, he became an MP again, and in his late 70s was continuing to assert the power of law over the king with great success in the shape of his Petition of Right. His lasting influence on the English legal system has been enormous as the impact of his contemporary Shakespeare on the stage.
