Briefly describe the circumstances which led the jury's 1735 decision about freedom of the press.

In these circumstances, it is important to mention John Peter Zenger, who was a German-American journalist. He printed The New York weekly Journal. He was accused of libel in 1734 by the royal governor of New York. It was acquitted by the jury, becoming a symbol for press freedom.

Zenger, in 1733 and with the support of the popular party, expressed in copies of newspapers in New York his displeasure with the actions of the new colonial governor William Cosby, criticizing him with harshness which earned him the accusation of defamation. After 8 months in prison, Zenger went to trial. In this case, Hamilton and Smith, Zenger's attorneys, tried to establish the following precedent: a statement, even if it is considered in the first instance defamatory, is not defamatory if it can be proven, thus affirming freedom of the press in the United States. Successive royal governors, however, continued to repress press freedom until the American Revolution. It is important to note that this case is the basis of press freedom, not its legal precedent.