Attempting to Win. American courts today are highly adversarial (most European ones less so). That is, the two parties gather and present the evidence they want and tell the stories they want in an attempt to win. The court's role is primarily to decide between the two positions they offer. There are certain exceptions. The sides can have witnesses compelled by the court's subpoena. "Discovery" procedures require some sharing of information. Evidentiary rules constrain what can be offered in court (e.g., no hearsay). The judge makes authoritative decisions on questions of law (as opposed to those of fact). Lawyers are bound by canons of ethics. In the Roman courts the procedure was almost purely adversarial. Romans also had nothing like the rules suppressing the results of an improper search. One of the few countervailing factors, at least in private...