Trial
The trial took place at the Court of King's Bench on 29 June, with Sir Thomas Powys the Attorney General and William Williams the Solicitor General prosecuting and Sir Robert Wright, the Lord Chief Justice as the presiding judge, sitting with John Powell, Richard Holloway and Richard Allibond. The bishops had a formidable team of defence counsel, headed by Francis Pemberton, a former Lord Chief Justice, and including Sir Robert Sawyer, a former Attorney General, and John Somers, a future Lord Chancellor. The jury deliberated all night and the bishops were found not guilty on the morning of 30 June. There was great rejoicing; those opposed to Toleration had gained their victory. The verdict was a disaster for the Government ,but was largely due to its own ineptitude. Of the four judges only Allibond, a Roman Catholic, showed any real desire for a conviction. The Attorney General almost caused the case to collapse at the outset by failing to prove that the Petition had been presented at all; and while Williams, the Solicitor General, handled the case with greater skill his bitter personal feud with the Lord Chief Justice did nothing assist the prosecution's case. A modern historian remarked that the trial " had a strong element of the grotesque"
The Seven Bishops were:
| William Sancroft | Archbishop of Canterbury |
| Thomas Ken | Bishop of Bath and Wells |
| John Lake | Bishop of Chichester |
| William Lloyd | Bishop of St Asaph |
| Jonathan Trelawny | Bishop of Bristol |
| Francis Turner | Bishop of Ely |
| Thomas White | Bishop of Peterborough |
Despite their petition and their trial, five of these bishops (all but Lloyd and Trelawny) remained loyal to James II after the Revolution of 1688 and were among the nine bishops who became non-jurors, refusing to swear an oath of allegiance to William and Mary, and losing their bishoprics as a result.
Read more about this topic: Seven Bishops
Famous quotes containing the word trial:
“A trial cannot be conducted by announcing the general culpability of a civilization. Only the actual deeds which, at least, stank in the nostrils of the entire world were brought to judgment.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“In government offices which are sensitive to the vehemence and passion of mass sentiment public men have no sure tenure. They are in effect perpetual office seekers, always on trial for their political lives, always required to court their restless constituents.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)
“For he is not a mortal, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should come to trial together. There is no umpire between us, who might lay his hand on us both.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Job 9:32-33.
Job, about God.