Download Roman Law and Justice - Lemoore Union Elementary School District

Roman Law and Justice
Objective:
We will be able to describe Rome’s legacy in
terms of law and justice:

Write the objective across the top of a piece
of binder paper
APK
Think/Pair/Share:
What do you
think is
happening in this
picture?
Roman Law
Early Roman
courts were
presided over by
an elected
praetor, or chief
law officer.
Juries consisted
mostly of
upper-class
citizens whose
rulings were
based on a
majority vote.
TWO-SIDED CORNELL NOTES

Start by drawing a vertical line
under the objective.

All words that are underlined Main ideas
(subject)
yellow go on the left side of
the line. (Your ELA class might
call these main ideas,
“stars”.)

All words that are underlined
red go on the right . (Your ELA
class might call these
supporting details/evidence,
“bars.”)
Supporting
details/evidence
(information)
Today, use this format for copying the notes. Later on, we will work on identifying the main ideas and
supporting details that we read.
(Your ELA classes may also have you use this format to organize your thoughts for writing.)
Write in your notes!
 The
Twelve
Tables

A group of laws
organized into 12
sections and written
down.
Think/Pair/Share: What do you think is
happening in this picture?
.
The Twelve Tables being posted here represent the
earliest attempt by the Romans,
in about 455 B.C.E., to create a written code of law.
Notes

Why are the 12
Tables Important?

They were engraved
on tablets of metal
and put on display at
the Forum in the city
of Rome, so that
everyone could see
them.
Whiteboard Question
• What do we call the group of Roman laws
that was organized into twelve sections?
A. The Twelve Disciples
B. The Twelve Districts
C. The Twelve Tables
D. The Twelve Laws
Whiteboard Question
• What do we call the group of Roman laws
that was organized into twelve sections?
C. The Twelve Tables
Here are some of the laws
in the Twelve Tables
If you are called to go to court, you must go. If you don’t
show up, you can be taken to court by force.
If you need a witness to testify and he will not show up, you
can go once every three days and shout in front of his
house.
Should a tree on a neighbor's farm be bend crooked by the
wind and lean over your farm, you may take legal
action for removal of that tree.

If it's your tree, it’s your fruit, even if it falls on another man’s land.

A person who had been found guilty of giving false witness shall be hurled
down from the Tarpeian Rock.

No person shall hold meetings by night in the city.

A dead man shall not be buried or burned within the city.

Marriages should not take place between plebeians and patricians. (As
time went on, this law was changed. When the tables were first written,
this was the law.)
Write in your notes!

Natural Law and
Natural Rights



The Roman idea that
we all have rights
given to us by nature.
The Declaration of
Independence was
influenced by this.
These rights should
not be taken away by
government.

How do we use this
today?

One example is that
both the Romans and
Americans believed a
person should be
innocent until proven
guilty.
Whiteboard Question
• What is a natural law or natural right?
• A. Rights that only the rich have.
• B. Rights given to us by nature that the
government shouldn’t take away.
• C. Rights of the poor.
• D. None of the above.
Whiteboard Question
• What is a natural law or natural right?
• B. Rights given to us by nature that the
government shouldn’t take away.
Whiteboard Question
• What American document was greatly
influenced by the Roman idea of natural
rights?
•
•
•
•
A.
B.
C.
D.
The Magna Carta
The Declaration of Independence
The Three Strikes Law
The Natural Rights Document
Whiteboard Question
• What American document was greatly
influenced by the Roman idea of natural
rights?
• B. The Declaration of Independence
Independent Practice

At the bottom of your
notes, write at least 3
sentences describing
what you learned
today about Roman
law and justice.