Coke, Sir Edward

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Coke, Sir Edward (1552–1634). Lawyer, judge, and parliamentary figure. Coke was called to the bar in 1578 and quickly gained a considerable reputation. In 1592 he became recorder of London and later that year solicitor-general. In 1593 the queen appointed him Speaker of the House of Commons and then attorney-general. Coke conducted a number of famous prosecutions for the crown, with unfeeling harshness, including the trials of Essex (1601), Sir Walter Raleigh (1603), and the Gunpowder plot conspirators (1605). In 1606 he became chief justice of Common Pleas. Coke held that the royal prerogative was defined by law and could not be arbitrarily extended, a fact which brought him frequently into conflict with the crown. In 1613 he was transferred to the King's Bench, a post with more prestige but less influence. Then in 1616 Coke was removed from office altogether on the charge that in his decisions he had introduced several things in derogation of the royal prerogative. In 1621 Coke re-entered Parliament where he opposed monopolies and denounced interference with the liberties of Parliament. His last major political act was his role in drafting the Petition of Right in 1628.

Richard A. Smith

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