Zenger was a publisher of a weekly newspaper in New York to voice his dislike for a certain governor, in this case William Cosby
Well the controversy was that he was charged with saying "scandales" things about the governor, which HE claimed were false, however libel (what he was charged with) is only valid if the things Zenger were writing happened to be lies. So Hamaltions defense was the truth, his client was not in fact lying about the things he said in his Newspaper
Well this set a precedent against judicial tyranny during libel cases
The lasting effect was the huge victory concerning the freedom of the press in the colonies, not only had Zenger been charged by a royal governor, he also got away scot free.
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