Was There a Rule in Shelley's Case?

摘要

This article compares Sir Edward Coke's manuscript report of Shelley's Case with the printed version to expose the challenges of interpreting early modern case reports. Evidence from the manuscript report demonstrates that Coke did not believe that the decision applied the celebrated rule and questions their association by later commentators. Coke's editing from manuscript to printed report, and the legal profession's shifting remembrance of the case and the rule, reveal the opaqueness of early modern case reports and the opportunities presented by still untapped manuscript evidence.