Editing Openai/69231e78-5a78-8013-81a7-f2dd38762292 (section)

=== User: The Trial of Jesus ===
The Trial of Jesus
by Hon. Harry Fogle
© 2000 by Jurisdictionary Foundation, Inc.
(in trust for the Estate of Hon. Harry Fogle)

There is so much mysticism and confusion surrounding the crucifixion and resurrection that we lose sight of the fact that Jesus of Nazareth was a man tried before a court of men under laws of men, that he was convicted and executed as a man, and that for sheer drama the trial of Jesus surely matches any of the great courtroom stories in the history of human justice.

I approach this subject as a lawyer, not a theologian. I urge you to research on your own the theological aspects of the events. I think it leads to better spiritual insight to have a lawyer's view of the processes of law that culminated in the death of Jesus on Calvary's cruel cross.

At the outset I want to emphasize that I do not believe a race of people caused the death of Jesus. I don't believe any thinking Christian does. It is my opinion only a very few powerful men in Israel-mainly the chief priests of that nation-were responsible for the miscarriage of justice that occurred. To understand the enormity of that miscarriage we examine the Jewish law as it then existed . a truly magnificent system of criminal justice.

Under provisions of Jewish law there could be no conviction for a capital offense based on the testimony of less than two witnesses. One witness was the same as no witness at all. If there were only two witnesses, both had to agree in every particular to the last detail.

Under rabbinical law, the accused had the right to employ counsel (the forerunner of our guarantee of counsel in criminal prosecutions set forth in the 6th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States). If he couldn't afford a lawyer one had to be appointed for him. We think of the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Gideon v. Wainwright that gave rise to our public defender system as an innovation, when in reality this was the practice of courts at least 2000 years ago!