Sir Edward Coke (pronounced "Cook") (1 February 1552 – 3 September 1634) was an English jurist and Member of Parliament whose writings on the common law, including the rights to a trial jury and a grand jury, were the definitive legal texts for nearly 150 years. James Madison and Thomas jefferson regarded them as their principal legal guides. He acted as one of the primary authors of the 1628 Petition of Right. His immensely influential legal writings were a staunch defence of the rule of law against royal absolutism.
The grand jury at the federal level has had a troubled history. Required by the Constitution as a check on judicial and prosecutorial abuse, it has often been used as a tool of abuse against political dissidents. Most grand juries are mere "rubber stamps" for prosecutors, but others become "runaway" grand juries, taking the lead in investigations of official corruption and abuse.
You can't save the world if you can't pay the rent.
— David Bossie
