The Supreme Court of Judicature of New York decides Crown v. Zenger: The Jury, fully aware of its power through the exercise of personal moral standards, to judge the decrees and the evidence in question, finds John Peter Zenger, publisher of the New York Weekly Journal, not guilty of seditious libel (exposing the truth of corruption under the administration of royal Governor William Crosby). Through Jury Nullification the Jury suspends what they determined to be an unjust statute, which rendered the facts of the case irrelevant.
NOTE: This began the tradition of Freedom of Press in the colonies.
[restored 7/17/2026]
Subsequent Events:
Authority:
Magna Carta, Chapter 39
ccc-2point0.com/Magna-Carta
References:
U.S. v. Dougherty, 473 F.2d 1113, 1129 (Cir. D.C. 1972).
Willis Thornton, ed., Almanac for Americans, second edition, (1941; Philadelphia and New York: Chilton, 1954), 248-49.
Crown v. John Peter Zenger, 1735 – Historical Society of the New York Courts
history.nycourts.gov/case/crown-v-zenger/
The Trial of John Peter Zenger – Federal Hall National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)
www.nps.gov/feha/learn/historyculture/the-trial-of-john-peter-zenger.htm#:~:text=The%20Trial%20of%20John%20Peter%20Zenger%20On%20April,the%20Court%20decided%20to%20disbar%20both%20of%20them.
Current U.s. National Debt:
