[Rarebooks] FS: Freedom of the press trial of John Stockdale. London: 1790

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(LAW) Stockdale, John, Defendant. THE WHOLE PROCEEDINGS ON THE TRIAL OF AN INFORMATION EXHIBITED EX OFFICIO, BY THE KING'S ATTORNEY GENERAL, AGAINST JOHN STOCKDALE; FOR A LIBEL ON THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, Tried in the Court of King's-Bench Westminster, on Wednesday, the Ninth of December, 1789, Before the Right Hon. Lloyd Lord Kenyon, Chief Justice of England... To Which Is Subjoined an Argument in Support of the Rights of Juries. London: Printed for John Stockdale. 1790. First edition. 8vo. xii,228pp. Plus (16)pp. publisher's ads. 19th century half green calf over marbled boards, gilt decorated spine with red calf label, hinges rubbed but sound.	$500.00
Stockdale (1749?-1814) was a London bookseller who published a pamphlet critical of the way Parliament handled the impeachment of Warren Hastings, Late Governor General of Bengal. Stockdale was defended by the noted jurist Thomas Erskine whose plea embodied many of the principles of free speech and rights of juries in libel trials. These principles were later embodied in the Fox Libel Act. Stockdale, himself, was acquitted of all charges.


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