Cognitio. The republican procedures continued to be used in the early years of the empire. Over the course of the first two centuries C.E., however, they began to be displaced. Criminal trials of senators came to be held before the senate itself. Other cases, in both public and private law matters, came to be tried by a process generally called cognitio today. The case was heard directly by a state official. These were still not professional judges in the modern sense but were perhaps a step in that direction. The presiding official also had considerably more control over the direction of the case than under Republican rules. He could impose legal terms, compel persons to appear, and conduct independent inquiries without the advice of the parties. With the new procedure also came increased substantive flexibility. The presiding...