Chief Judge
The king's imperium granted him both military powers as well as qualified him to pronounce legal judgment in all cases as the chief justice of Rome. Though he could assign pontiffs to act as minor judges in some cases, he had supreme authority in all cases brought before him, both civil and criminal. This made the king supreme in times of both war and peace. While some writers believed there was no appeal from the king's decisions, others believed that a proposal for appeal could be brought before the king by any patrician during a meeting of the Curiate Assembly.
To assist the king, A council advised the king during all trials, but this council had no power to control the king's decisions. Also, two criminal detectives (Quaestores Parridici) were appointed by him as well as a two man criminal court (Duumviri Perduellionis) which oversaw for cases of treason.
Read more about this topic: King Of Rome
Famous quotes containing the words chief and/or judge:
“The vanity of being known to be trusted with a secret is generally one of the chief motives to disclose it.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
“The Judge looked back as he climbed the hill,
And saw Maud Muller standing still.”
—John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892)