alleryStart learning →What verdict did the jury return in the libel trial of Peter Zenger?
AA verdict of guilty
BNo verdict at all
CA verdict of contempt
DA verdict of not guilty
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. A verdict of not guilty
1. Zenger's weekly journal spoke for the opposition, and the governor had him jailed for libel.
2. Andrew Hamilton defended him and argued that what Zenger printed was true and so not libelous.
3. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty and Zenger went free.
4. That decision helped establish the principle of freedom of the press in America.
_Source: An Outline of American History (U.S. Information Agency, 1990, public domain), section THE PRESS ASSERTS ITS FREEDOM_
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