|
The Case of the Dean of St Asaph, formally ''R v Shipley'', was the 1784 trial of William Davies Shipley, the Dean of St Asaph, for seditious libel. In the aftermath of the American War of Independence, electoral reform had become a substantial issue, and William Pitt the Younger attempted to bring a Bill before Parliament to reform the electoral system. In its support Shipley republished a pamphlet written by his brother-in-law, Sir William Jones, which noted the defects of the existing system and argued in support of Pitt's reforms. Thomas FitzMaurice, the brother of British Prime Minister Earl of Shelburne, reacted by indicting Shipley for seditious libel, a criminal offence which acted as "the government's chief weapon against criticism",〔 since merely publishing something that an individual judge interpreted as libel was enough for a conviction; a jury was prohibited from deciding whether or not the material was actually libellous. The law was widely seen as unfair, and a Society for Constitutional Information was formed to pay Shipley's legal fees. With financial backing from the society Shipley was able to secure the services of Thomas Erskine KC as his barrister. Shipley was tried in 1784 by Mr Justice Buller and a specially convened jury at Shrewsbury. Edward Bearcroft, counsel for the prosecution, argued that on the basis of the existing system the jury could not decide on the nature of the pamphlet, while Erskine argued not only that they could, but that the material did not constitute seditious libel, containing as it did "a solemn protest against all sedition".〔 Persuaded by Erskine's arguments, the jury ruled that Shipley was neither "guilty" or "not guilty", but instead "guilty of publication only", a confusing and non-standard ruling which, after a long dialogue, Mr Justice Buller declared to mean "guilty on all charges". Erskine appealed the decision to the Court of King's Bench on 8 November, where the judges again ruled that juries could not decide whether material was libellous, but nevertheless released Shipley on a technicality; his freedom was greeted with fireworks and bonfires, and Erskine was rewarded with the Freedom of the City of Gloucester. Still seeking to reform the law, Erskine sent the court records to Charles James Fox and Lord Camden, who, after much effort, passed the Libel Act 1792, which secured the right of juries to decide whether or not material was libellous. ==Background== Following the end of the American War of Independence, British public attention had turned to the need for Parliamentary reform – specifically, the lack of franchise in many towns and the presence of rotten boroughs. In response, William Pitt the Younger brought the idea of reform before Parliament and, in support of his actions, Sir William Jones wrote and published a pamphlet titled ''A Dialogue between a Farmer and a Country Gentleman on the Principles of Government'', which covered the "virtues of government and defects in the representation of the people".〔Hostettler (2010) p. 43〕 In 1783 Shipley, Jones's father-in-law, recommended it to a group of Welsh constitutional reformers and had it reprinted in Welsh with his own preface suggesting it was "just, rational and constitutional".〔Hostettler (2010) p. 44〕 As a result, Thomas FitzMaurice, the brother of the Earl of Shelburne, indicted Shipley for seditious libel, specifically for "publishing a false, scandalous and malicious libel ... to raise seditions and tumults within the kingdom, and to excite His Majesty's subjects to attempt, by armed rebellion and violence, to subvert the state and constitution of the nation".〔Faught (1946) p. 319〕 The law dealing with seditious libel was particularly strict. Acting as "the government's chief weapon against criticism",〔 it followed principles laid down in ''De Libellis Famosis'' and ''R v Carr'': that seditious libel was a criminal offence, that the intention of the publisher or the truth of the allegations was irrelevant, that mere publication was sufficient for a conviction, and that juries were only allowed to deliver a verdict on whether or not the material had been published by the defendant, not whether it was libellous. Traditionally, matters of fact were left to the jury and matters of law to the judge, but with seditious libel "matters of law" was construed very widely; it was the judge's job to decide if the material was libellous, what constituted "seditious libel", and the nature of "publication", which was understood to include almost anything. Even a private letter, if intercepted, could lead to a prosecution.〔Lubasz (1957) p. 454〕 Because of public disquiet with these principles, Shipley's trial acted as a "test case" for the law of seditious libel; a Society for Constitutional Information was formed by concerned citizens and began raising money to pay for his defence.〔Lubasz (1957) p. 459〕 Able to afford the best representation, the society gave the brief to Thomas Erskine KC, a noted defence barrister. The trial was to be heard by Lord Kenyon, then Chief Justice of Chester, at Wrexam; after travelling 200 miles to the court Erskine discovered that a paper had been circulated in the area arguing that in libel cases juries were allowed to decide whether or not a publication was libellous, as well as whether or not it had been published. Citing the paper's circulation, the prosecution asked for a postponement; ignoring claims that a delay would cause Shipley hardship, Kenyon agree to postpone the trial. The case was eventually heard on 6 August 1784 by Mr Justice Buller, at Shrewsbury.〔Hostettler (2010) p. 45〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Case of the Dean of St Asaph」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|