ACQUITTAL IN TALMUDIC LAW: The Jewish court for hearing capital
offenses was composed of twenty-three judges, and according to
the opinion of many sages, even offenses of a lower degree, such
as were punishable by stripes only, must be tried by a like
number of judges. Still it must not be thought that the Jewish
court corresponded in any way to an English or American jury.
Modern jurors are supposed to render a verdict upon the facts
adduced by the evidence, while the presiding judge instructs
them on the law in the case. But the twenty-three judges of the
Jewish Criminal Court were all supposed to be versed in the law.
According to the pharisaic idea, it was requisite that they be
"disciples of the wise," that is, learned in the traditions. It
was not so much their business to weigh conflicting evidence as
to decide upon the competency and the sufficiency of the
testimony given by the witnesses according to certain hard and
fast rules. But it was deemed the highest duty of the judges to
see that no innocent