Selden Society lecture series Australia

Join a variety of judicial officers, legal professionals and academics for this informative and provocative series of legal history lectures. Each episode presents a single story uncovering a unique aspect of our common law past. This might be literature or language, a fascinating event or item, a significant person, or the development of a legal idea. These lectures are recorded in the Banco Court, Brisbane, and are now available to the world.

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Selden Society lecture series Australia

Sir Edward Coke

May 20, 2020 • Supreme Court Library Queensland • Episode 15

Barrister, legal scholar, parliamentarian, and judge, Sir Edward Coke (1552–1634) was at the very centre of some of the most dramatic moments in England's legal history including the trials of the Earl of Essex (1600), Sir Walter Raleigh (1603) and the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot (1605).

His outspoken conduct as a Member of Parliament soon led to his arrest and imprisonment in the Tower of London on charges of treason (1622). Even in death, at the age of 82, concern about his radical views resulted in his papers being seized by the authorities.

In this insightful and entertaining episode, The Hon Justice Patrick Keane AC covers the myriad aspects of Coke's life including his early career and his appointments as Speaker of the House of Commons, Attorney-General, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and Chief Justice of the King's Bench.

View the speakers notes.

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