No country values free
expression more highly than ours, and no case in our history stands as
a greater landmark on the road to protection for freedom of the press than
the trial of a German printer named John Peter Zenger. On August
5, 1735, twelve New York jurors, inspired by the eloquence of the best
lawyer of the period, Andrew Hamilton, ignored the instructions of the
Governors's hand-picked judges and returned a verdict of "Not Guilty" on
the charge of publishing "seditious libels." The Zenger trial is
a remarkable story of a divided Colony, the beginnings of a free press,
and the stubborn independence of American jurors. (CONTINUED)
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