Report of an Action For A Libel

The transcription of the case including judge Shippen's remarks and instructions to the jury.

From Catalog II

The published report of Rush v. Cobbett -- the libel trial that resulted in the largest libel verdict in American history to that point and effectively ended William Cobbett's American career. The trial was a landmark in early American press law: it established that professional reputation was a legitimate subject of libel protection and that medical claims made in the press could be evaluated by juries. Cobbett had argued that Rush's yellow fever treatment killed people and that the public had a right to know it. Rush argued that Cobbett's claims were false, malicious, and designed to destroy a reputation honestly earned. The jury agreed. Cobbett sailed for England.