Chapter 7: Crucial to any legal system is the plaintiff’s ability to get the defendant into court, and the supervision of the process in civil suits. In Rome the praetor decided if there was a case to answer, and presented a formula to the judge outlining the main issues. The formulary system was gradually superseded in the first century ad by cognitio, in which there was only one stage, before a magistrate, who heard the case himself and reached a judgement. Criminal cases were heard in public jury courts, and the charge was brought by a private individual (delator). Roman society was litigious, and it is useful to examine the experience of appearing in court, the place of the litigant, the availability and role of advocates, and the extent to which the state could ensure fairness in a system weighted in favour of the wealthy and the socially advantaged. State and citizen came in contact through the legal process and the courts.

Roman legal texts open a view onto the life and society of the empire at its height, its management, its peoples, their activities, interrelations, and problems, and their experiences when facing the juristic power of the state and its officials. Now, the first step in the study of these texts is the identification of the sources of the law. Sources are defined first as the mechanisms by which the law was introduced and regarded as authoritative by the Romans, and second the legal works transmitted to us by writers and compilers in the ancient world, which have been translated and analysed by modern scholars. This introduction offers a brief overview of these topics and some of the issues associated with the use of legal texts in the study of Roman social, economic, and political history.

As aedile, Cicero made a positive impression thanks to help from the grateful Sicilians, who brought their products to Rome to reduce market prices. In light of Verres’ case, Cicero now began to attract top clients, including his first senatorial client, M. Fonteius, whom he defended on charges of extortion. Cicero also continued in politics, canvassing for and gaining election to the praetorship. Serving as praetor in 66, he delivered his first political speech, supporting a special command for Pompey against Mithridates vi of Pontus. The following year, he announced his candidacy for consul. He faced opposition from two nobles, L. Sergius Catilina (“Catiline”) and C. Antonius, who formed an electoral alliance against him. With the help of his friend Atticus and with a speech in the senate fiercely denouncing his competitors (the Speech in a White Toga), he was able to shore up the support necessary to win election.