dec 9, 1734 - Zenger Case

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John Peter Zenger, a New York newspaper printer, in 1734, exposed the royal governor as a corrupt official. Charged with seditious libel, arrested and taken to court, Zenger was defended by Philadelphia lawyer Andrew Hamilton who argued that Zenger had printed the truth. At the time, printing inflammatory accusations against a royal official was considered libel regardless of whether it was true. Hamilton told the court that the "the very liberty of both exposing and opposing arbitrary power" was at stake. The jury found Zenger not guilty, laying an important foundation for that hallmark of American democracy, a free press.

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