Law & Justice: Ancient Rome's Period 5

The Police BEAT HIS ASS MOTHA F- ER - There was no professional police force in Rome which is often recognized as one of the reasons that the Roman republic collapsed - All of the police force was selected and they were called Vigils - There were about 7,500 police constables

Roman Police, Praetorian Guard and Cohortes Urbanae - The Roman Police were also night watchmen who dealed with robbers and other prowlers of the night. - The police usually dealed with petty crimes because riots and violent crimes were the business of Praetorian Guard and the Cohortes urbanae (a counter balance to the Praetorian Guard). - The Cohortes urbanae dealt with mob work and on rare ocassion they would attend to battle if nescessary. - The Praetorian Guard were the general protectors of Rome and acted as a sort of police force/ national guard but they gained so much power that they became corrupt

The Vigils as Fire Fighters Each Vigil was equipped with fire fighting equipment such as: - The sipho or fire engine was pulled by horses and consisted of a large double action pump that was partially submerged in a reservoir of water. - During the Great Fire of 64 more then 1/3 of Rome burned to the ground and Emperor Nero helped fight the fires.

Roman Laws And How They Relate to Modern Laws By Stephen Devine and Matt Hardin

Examples of Roman Laws and Modern Equivilents Lex Canuleia allows patricians and plebeians to intermarry. Lex Gabinia allowed Pompey special powers in the Mediterranean to fight against pirates. Similar laws in the United States would include the abolishments of anti-miscegenation laws (prohibitions against interracial marriage). Similar examples in modern society include the government's ability to increase it's own power during wartime or states of panic. The USA PATRIOT Act grants the government more power to violate the privacy of certain people during the Iraq War.

The Twelve Tablets ( ) Earliest attempt by romans to create a code of law. Earliest surviving piece of literature coming from the romans. TABLE I - Procedure: for courts and trials TABLE II - Trials, continued. TABLE III - Debt TABLE IV - Rights of fathers (paterfamilias) over the family TABLE V - Legal guardianship and inheritance laws TABLE VI - Acquisition and possession TABLE VII - Land rights TABLE VIII - Torts and delicts (Laws of injury) TABLE IX - Public law TABLE X - Sacred law TABLE XI - Supplement TABLE XII - Supplement II Similar to The US's protection on property, social security, etc. law used to protect what people owned and what people were intitled to.

Roman Law Today Places like South Africa and San Marino are still based on the ius commune, or common law, also the common basis of legal practice everywhere. It is often used by civil law jurists to refer aspects of the civil law system's legal principles. Roman law has had a huge impact on European legal and political thought. Roman law is not used but is still a manditory study for law students in civil law jurisdictions. Roman law in the ancient world had a unifying influence throughout medieval and modern Europe

How Roman Laws Were Passed Most laws were passed by assemblies dominated by the patrician families, though the rulings of magistrates were also important. Later emperors bypassed these forms and issued their own decrees. Our law-making system borrows heavily from

Heritage of Roman Laws Emperor Justinian I issued the Corpus Juris Civilis, a work on the theory and philosophy of law, between 529 (when the first edition came out) and 534, when reforms made by Justinian himself caused a revision. Four parts: Codex Justinianus, the Pandectae, the Instituitiones, and the Novellae. After the fall of the Roman empire, these laws were lost until around 1070 A.D.

Heritage of Roman Laws The Parts of the Corpus Juris Civilis Codex Justinianus Contained all Emperor's degrees that held legal power. Solidified Christianity as the state religeon of Rome. Pandectae Consists of legal writings back to the 2ond and 3rd centuries Instituitiones Basically a textbook of Roman law, used as a manual for jourists Novellae New laws passed after 534.

The Root Of All Roman Laws

Heritage of Roman Laws Most western societies have laws based of of the Roman codes. Roman law was common in the Middle Ages. These law systems then evolved in to modern laws. Some parts of Germany had used Roman law until as recently as Justinian

Often done in public at the town's forum The Forum Romanum was often the setting for public cases It was the responsibility of the victim and the family to apprehend and prosecute the family Augustus allowed the use off his forum for certain trials. The praefectus urbi heard cases there, which were responsible for maintaining public order in Rome. The praetor urbanis held their cases in the forum near the temple of Castor Roman Courts

Jury The consul Caepio passed a law in 107 BC putting senators on jurys ( 2/3 of jury would be senators) revoked in 105 Marcus Druscus fought to regain the senators rights to sit on jury in criminal trials in 91 BC, which was now the responsibilty of knights or prominent Roman soldiers. He admitted 300 knights to the Senate, so now the jurors would be senators as well as knights.

Typical Roman Trial By the second century BC seperate tribunals were set up for criminal trials, which came to include treason, electoral bribery, embezzlement of state property, adultery, and murder by violence or poison. In these trials public officials would sit on elevated tribunals, and the jury would sit on benches placed in the pavement Criminal trials were heard before an appropriate magistrate who gave a ruling on the case. Punishment was based on class. For example some punishments for an upperclassmen were exile, loss of status, or a private execution, while some punishments for a lowerclassmen included being beaten, publicly executed, or used as games for entertainment Many trials were held in public. People came to the great speeches and scandal Overall there is little information on the actual court procedure but what is known is that Romans enjoyed a good show and if the case was something "scandalous" people would be there to watch.

Lawyers & Clients Emporer Claudius was the first to enforce the law which allowed Roman Advocates to become the first Lawyers. J urisconsults- were the first real lawyers, they were intellectuals who practiced law as a hobby. Eventually they become very involved in their hobby and discussed law with all those who wished advice. This effectively made Rome the first place with law interested people.

Clients and Lawyers Claudius realized that law could be a profession and made the first professional lawyers. The law was then highly regulated and stratified. This was then acceclerated under the rule of emporer hadrian. Under Emperor Leo the roman advocates had to produce testimonials from their teachers in order to gain the job. By the sixth century there was a full legal study available to those who wanted to get involved in law. Notaries appeared in the late roman empire and they became responsible for wills and contracts. As new laws were added and practice continued to develope law became one of the most important things in ancient rome.

What lawyers actually did Lawyers would help to represent a client during a trail. In ancient Rome the lawyers would often be different from how they were nowadays since the client would often do more speaking. But the important thing about the roman lawyers was That they were very percise with details and would often try too win thier case by winning over the people opinions with their points.

Jurists in Ancient Rome Prudentes, sing. prudens, or jurisprudentes. A jurist is someone who studies, develops, and applies the law professionally. Appius Claudius Caecus

Jurists Continued Manius Manilus- Renowed Orator and Jurist. He is Cited by Cicero in The Republic. Quintus Mucius Scaveola He was Tribune in 106 BC, Aedile in 104 BC, Consul in 95 BC, Proconsul of Asia in 94 BC, and Pontifex Maximus in 87 BC. He was most known for being the first to treat the ius civile generatim.

Jurists Continued Servius Sulpicius Rufus One of the most influential jurists in Rome. He was a student of Mucius. He later became the teacher of Alfenus Varus. He held the office of Praetor in 65 BC and Consul in 51 BC. Was a good friend of Cicero, especially when they were pitched against each other on the case of L. Licinius Morena.

Early Roman Punishments The earliset type of Roamn code found is dated back to 455 B.C. A commission was formed to make 10 tablets Included in these tablets were the eight types of punixhments that could be used by the Roman Law: Fine, fetters or shackles, flogging, retaliation in kind, civil disgrace, banishment, slavery, rape, or death These of course would be used after the defense was tried for what ever crime they were prosecuted for, the bigger the crime, the bigger the punishment These punishments basically stayed into Roman society with other amendments added over the years In the event that a slave was caught cheating with their master a witness could kill both.

Roman Army Punishments If you were part of the Roman army, whether a commander or a foot soldier, you could be pulled out of the army or demoted dow ranks for doing any sort of crime, sometimes it even meant being bansihed to the area you were occupying If you did any crime, the punishment would be brutal due to the fact you swore an oath to the Senate and Roman people that you would not and the Roman Military held displince over any other rule If you: Deserted the army or did not follow orders you would be either stoned or beaten to derath by fellow soldiers that you put in danger with other soldiers watching

Roman Army Punishments (con.) If you: Committed a misdemanor than you would be fined form your pay or flogged by fellow soliders Treason or theft you would be thrown into a sack of snakes and thrown into a lake or river Held prisoners of war in prisons or camps, and they died due to your actions of punishments, then you would recieve the same punishments inflicted on the prisoner(s)

Slave Punishments Under Roman Republic Law owners of slaves were allowed to inflict any punishments onto their slaves, even if the slave was killed, later in the Roman Empire era If the slave committed a capital offense, then that slave was crucified If a slave killed his master or assaulted his house, the slave and his family would be tortured and killed If a slave ran away, they were either branded or broke their joints and bones so they couldn't run Another punsihment for any offense was to put them into the colosseum or any varity of this sport

Roman Punishments