The Selected Writings of Sir Edward Coke

The Selected Writings of Sir Edward Coke contains the most important works of the great English jurist-politician who set out to codify English common law. In his Reports, which are reports of court proceedings, and his Institutes, which state the law, Coke set down a view of English law that has had a powerful influence on lawyers, judges, and politicians through the present day. Liberty Fund's Selected Writings of Sir Edward Coke includes not only selections from the four volumes of the Institutes and cases from the Reports, but also several of Coke's speeches in Parliament, Coke's opinions from the bench, and opinions of Coke as recorded by others from official cases and court records. Taken together, these writings delineate the origin and nature of English law and indicate the profound interrelationship in the English tradition of custom, common law, authority (of both Crown and Commons), and individual liberty.

Note on the text, editions, and translations; introduction; chronology; selected readings; table of regnal years; index.