The Criminal Jurisdiction of the Senate

Trials before the senate were conducted in accordance with a procedure that blended the old rules of senatorial debate with those of the iudicia publica. A prosecution was launched by an application to a consul for leave to initiate an accusation (postulatio), followed by the accuser’s formal announcement of the charge (nominis delatio). The magistrate to whom the application was submitted then formally registered the name of the accused (nominis receptio) and the trial date was established. On the appointed day, the senate was convoked and the trial commenced under the presidency of a consul. After the arguments of the parties were presented and the evidence heard, individual members submitted their motions and presented opinions. The verdict was attained by a majority vote without the involvement of the presiding magistrate. The emperor frequently participated in the judicial sessions of the senate and, as princeps senatus, cast the first vote that presumably carried decisive weight. The sentence became valid in law upon the final announcement of the verdict and its insertion in the official record as a senatorial resolution. No appeal to the people was available against a death sentence imposed by the verdict. Since the late second century ad, the jurisdiction of the senate was curtailed both substantially and procedurally. By the middle of the third century ad, the senators were no longer involved in the administration of criminal justice.

4.4.2