Noting that the greatest champion of the Magna Carta was Edward Coke (1552-1634) a barrister who served in Parliament and as Chief Justice until removed by James I when Coke advocated the rule by law. The Magna was Carta on the field of Runnymede with the signature of King John on June 15, 1215. 63 clauses

Clause 39 and 40 contain the most celebrated expression of rights invoking the "law of the land". It became the touchstone of the incremental 800-year old bastion of English law, and ultimately the US Constitution. It is the first written Constitution in European history.