Lawless Republic: The Rise of Cicero and the Decline of Rome

Osgood’s (classics, Georgetown Univ.; Uncommon Wrath) book spotlights the Roman judicial system; its most famous litigator, Marcus Tullius Cicero; and how they influenced many modern countries. For example, two Roman judicial tenets—that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty and that the burden of proof is on the accuser—form the foundation of the U.S. legal system. This book describes the Roman republic’s final decades, when Cicero came to be greatly regarded as a lawyer and politician. He wrote out many of his summations, and this book makes readers privy to them. Osgood thoroughly examines Cicero’s methods in his most famous cases. The book shows that major trials, viewed as entertainment by prosperous Romans, were conducted at the Forum, where Cicero’s gift for eloquent oration was on full display. Echoes of it can be heard today in courtrooms, television programs, and films in which clever lawyers enthrall audiences.