A Brief Narrative of the Case and "Tryal" of John Peter Zenger, Printer of the New York Weekly Journal, edited by Paul Finkelman (TPB, 1997, $2)
Sir William Cosby arrived as the new governor of the New York colony. A greedy and obnoxious man, he made enemies easily. His opposition hired John Zenger, a failed businessman, to print a newspaper critical of Cosby. This political gambit would soon take on a life of its own. Cosby had Zenger arrested for seditious libel, meaning what he had published was critical of the government. ( Even if what was published was true, Zenger would still be guilty.) The grand jury refused to indict. Cosby then rearrested him and created a new court to try him in. The New York Chief Justice, Lewis Morris, ruled that Cosby had no authority to create a new court without legislative approval, so Cosby fired Morris and appointed his own Chief Justice. He then also disbarred Zenger's lawyers, and appointed his own friend to be Zenger's lawyer. Cosby's attempt, however, to place only his supporters on the jury was foiled.
Enter Alexander Hamilton for the defence! The jury acquitted the printer, even though he was actually guilty, a clear case of what would now be called jury nullification. From that point on, royal governors could no longer stop the printing of material critical of either themselves or the government in England. By 1770 even English juries were deciding in favor of a free press.
The publication of Zenger's account of the trial became famous both in the colonies and England. The case would help shape the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Narrative would continue to be quoted throughout the years: before WWII, in 1964, and when Nixon was trying to keep the Pentagon Papers from being published.
Look for this fascinating book on the new non-fiction table. (Avail. 9/14)
P.S. Ironically, Zenger didn't actually write The Narrative himself. He had a ghost writer!
