Giles Rooke

“I should be as unwilling as any man to concur in anything injurious to the rights of the subject. The Habeas Corpus is a very wise and beneficial statute: and the Judges have always been disposed to put such a construction upon it as will favour the real liberty of the subject. But we must be careful that those Acts which have been made for the benefit of the subject are not turned into engines of oppression: nor must we, under the idea of promoting general liberty, withhold that degree of favour from individuals which is consistent with the security of the public.”

“If it were a doubtful point how the statute should be construed, I must consider myself as bound by the construction it has already received in two Courts in Westminster Hall.”

“Legal coercion is a course which the law allows.”

“In this case the plaintiff does not come into Court with clean hands; he alleges his own turpitude, and is indictable for his fraud.”

“Those who make the attack ought to be very well prepared to support it.”

“The best way in which a jury can execute their duty is to give their verdict according to the evidence before them.”

“I am bound by my oath to abide by the law, and I cannot suffer anybody to derogate from it.”

“The Crown used to call a Parliament annually, but there was not an annual election. These words, annuo parliamento, relate to the time of their meeting, and not their election.”

“Whatever doubts I had, I submit to the authority of the other Judges.”