Commonwealth v. Davies
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
THE defendants in August 1797 became severally bound to the commonwealth before the Chief Justice of this court in a recognisance in 1000 dolls, conditioned for the good behaviour of William C'obbett until the next Oyer and Terminer to be holden by the justices of this court for the city ~nd county d Philadelphia.
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THE defendants in August 1797 became severally bound to the commonwealth before the Chief Justice of this court in a recognisance in 1000 dolls, conditioned for the good behaviour of William C'obbett until the next Oyer and Terminer to be holden by the justices of this court for the city ~nd county d Philadelphia. The recognisance was alleged to have been taken in consequence of a libel or libels published by Cobbett in the newspaper of which he was the editor; and upon the publicatior of other libellous matter by him before the court of Oyer and Terminer, actions of debt were brought against…
1Opinion of the Court
ShiRpen C. J.
There is abundantly more reason for a power in the court to moderate or remit a forfeiture of this kind than *105hi those cases which come expressly within the law; for, as it was argued upon the trial, if a publication in the newspaper may be a breach, and upon such a breach the whole recognisanee is forfeited, every justice of the peace may indirectly put a restraint upon the press. I certainly told the jury that we had an act of Assembly by which we might prevent the injury; and I was probably misled by recollecting that in declaring upon such a recognisance I always stated that…
2Cited by1 opinion
- United States v. DuncanDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania · 1863