Ep. 279: Legendary lawyer Michael Tigar on juries, free speech, and the trial of John Peter Zenger

Long before the First Amendment, John Peter Zenger stood trial for publishing criticisms of New York's then colonial governor. Although the law seemed to guarantee a guilty verdict, a jury refused to convict him. Zenger's trial was an early indication that the American colonists harbored a view of liberty more expansive than that offered to them by the British Crown.   Few people are better suited to explain the case than Michael Tigar. Over a legendary legal career spanning more than six decades, Tigar has argued before the Supreme Court (multiple times), represented civil rights activists and other controversial clients, taught generations of lawyers, and written what has become the definitive stage play about the Zenger trial.  Michael joins us to revisit the Zenger trial and reflect on his own remarkable career from the Berkeley Free Speech Movement and the Chicago Eight trial to jury nullification and lawyers' First Amendment rights.  To read more about Michael's life, check out his memoir.   Timestamps:  00:00 Intro   03:11 The Berkeley Free Speech Movement 09:17 Michael's path to becoming a lawyer 13:44 Defending the Chicago Eight 20:25 The trial of John Peter Zenger 27:03 Jury nullification and the Zenger verdict 37:26 The Zenger play and its legacy 39:52 NYT v. Sullivan and SLAPP lawsuits 44:30 Outro   Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more.  If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at fire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].