Lecture:
Freedom of Speech in New York: The John Peter Zenger Trial, by Albert M. Rosenblatt
Date/Time:
Thursday, January 22, 2026 at 6PM
Location:
Hudson Area Library, 51 N 5th Street, Hudson, NY 12534
The Jacob Leisler Institute for the Study of Early New York History, in collaboration with the Hudson Area Library, hosts this in-person presentation with Professor Rosenblatt on the Zenger trial. The landmark 1735 trial of New York printer John Peter Zenger, which acquitted him for seditious libel in publishing articles critical of New York’s colonial governor, established the power of a jury to function as a check on government power and inspired the movement for freedom of the press later enshrined in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Its importance today is as great as it was in the eighteenth century.
Judge Albert M. Rosenblatt served as a Judge on New York’s high court, after having served on other New York Courts. A graduate of UPenn, and of Harvard Law School, Rosenblatt has written widely on New York law and culture, including a book, with his wife, Julia, on Dutch New York. He now teaches law at NYU Law School.
The Jacob Leisler Library Lectures are made partially possible through the generous support of the Van Dyke Family Foundation, HRBT Foundation, and Bank of Greene County Charitable Foundation.