LAD #2: John Peter Zenger

John Peter Zenger was a New York newpaper publisher who voiced his opinion of the colonial governor.He was charged with publishing material that was believed could start the ideas of rebellion, although he was just voicing his thoughts about the new laws and salary of the governor William Cosby. When he was taken to court, he was defended by lawyer Andrew Hamilton, who pleaded the case to the jury, which decided upon a not guilty verdict.
It set the precedents for use truth as a defence against charges of libel, and was an important stepping stone to freedom of press, and also set up against judicial tryanny and showed that people should voice their opinions and stop such powerful but poor government officials.
The trial decided an important thing for the colonies and later the U.S.A. Which was that people had freedom of speech and press, in that their opinions could not be used to charge them with a crime.