Richard Strode (c. 1480–1522)

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Richard Strode (c. 1480–1522)^{[citation needed]} was a 16th-century tinner and Member of Parliament for Plympton, Devonshire. He is best known for instigating one of the earliest and most important English cases dealing with parliamentary privilege.

[edit] Strode's Case

Main article: Strode's Case

With the aid of some fellow MPs, Strode attempted to introduce legislation restricting the rights of tin miners in his county. However, Strode was himself a tinner, and an influential competitor brought charges against Strode in the Stannary Court, a regional tribunal empowered to judge mining disputes. Strode was fined £160, but refused to pay the fine, whereupon he was imprisoned in a dungeon deep under Lydford Castle. He was released three weeks later by a letter from the Exchequer; at Strode's request, Parliament had passed a law (Strode's Act) reversing the local court decision and granting him immunity from further prosecution related to his Parliamentary activities.

[edit] References

• Zechariah Chafee, Jr. Three Human Rights in the Constitution of 1787. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence, 1956, pp. 27–28.