This Day in American History November 27
The Library Of Congress
The Library Of Congress
Delancey and the Zenger Case
James Delancey was born into the English aristocracy on November 27, 1703. He presided over the 1733 libel suit brought by Governor William Cosby against journalist Peter Zenger. This case is a major landmark in establishing freedom of the press in America.
Delancey was educated at Cambridge and trained in law. He arrived in colonial Manhattan in 1729. Prior to being named Chief Justice by Royal Governor William Cosby, he served on the Governor’s Council and as second judge of the colony’s Supreme Court.
Eighteenth century American colonists demanded increased freedom while proponents of royal rule desperately sought to maintain power in the face of rising opposition and democracy. Delancey and Cosby staunchly supported the English Crown and the concept of royal privilege. Many colonial New Yorkers were individualistic entrepreneurs seeking financial success and independence and did not quietly defer to what they viewed as antiquated claims of royal privilege.
Conflicts between proponents of royal privilege and colonists occurred throughout the 18th century. No skirmish proved as significant as the libel suit against Peter Zenger. Zenger’s New York Weekly Journal enjoyed the enthusiastic support of critics of royal privilege and, in the early 1730s, published articles exposing Governor Cosby’s unjust policies, backroom financial deals, and bullying tactics. Cosby condemned the Journal and imprisoned Zenger for eight months while he awaited trial for seditious libel. Zenger’s imprisonment and trial created widespread public outrage and helped further fuel anti-royal sentiment.
A hostile Chief Justice Delancey presided over the case. The prosecution argued that there were sufficient grounds for conviction as the publication was highly critical of Cosby and thus libelous and treasonous. In the eyes of the prosecution, the relative truth of the publication was irrelevant.
Zenger’s lawyer, Andrew Hamilton (like Zenger a former indentured servant turned successful businessman), directed his defense to the jury rather than the judge, hoping that a public fearful of royal abuses of power would condemn Cosby and protect Zenger. Hamilton conceded that Zenger had published articles critical of Cosby but eloquently argued that because the articles contained truths in the form of statements of verifiable facts, they could not be libelous. The jury’s “not guilty” verdict generated spontaneous cheers from anxious onlookers.
This first colonial freedom-of-the-press case established the veracity of reported statements as the principal criteria for determining grounds for libel and set a precedent against judicial tyranny in libel suits, thus marking a major advance for freedom of expression later enshrined in the United States Constitution and its First Amendment.
