Dr. Bonham's Case and the Modern Significance of Lord Coke's Influence

19 Pages Posted: 4 Feb 2010 Last revised: 22 Aug 2010

See all articles by George P. Smith

George P. Smith

Catholic University of America (CUA) - Columbus School of Law

Date Written: 1966

Abstract

Dr. Bonham’s Case, decided by Edward Coke as Chief Justice of the British Court of Common Pleas in 1610, remains - to this day - the case acknowledging the supremacy of the fundamental (or natural) law interpreted and enforced as such by the judiciary and not a legislative body - here, Parliament. Coke’s idea of a law of nature superior to man-made law was not new. What was original - and even radical for the times - was the notion that the courts of law should be given the power and the right to interpret and enforce that law. This theory of judicial review was embraced first in the Massachusetts Colony in the case of Giddings v. Brown in 1657 and in subsequent challenges by the colonies to the supremacy of Parliamentary rule over them. Subsequently, Coke’s holding in Bonham’s Case became the very lynchpin for the American theory of the judicial review of legislation.

Suggested Citation

Smith, George P., Dr. Bonham's Case and the Modern Significance of Lord Coke's Influence (1966). Washington Law Review, Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 297-314, 1966, CUA Columbus School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2010-6, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1547230

George P. Smith (Contact Author)

Catholic University of America (CUA) - Columbus School of Law ( email )

3600 John McCormack Rd., NE
Washington, DC 20064
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
558
Abstract Views
3,105
Rank
90,831
PlumX Metrics