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.