The true story of Cicero, Rome's greatest criminal lawyer, and his times. Patricide, extortion, poisoning and conspiracy. Lawless Republic recounts just some of the most sensational criminal cases in the last years ofthe Roman Republic, which gave rise to trademark legal practices we recognize today-fromdiscrediting a star witness to establishing criminal intent. These gruesome stories-both famousand obscure-are interwoven with the rise and fall of Cicero, "king of the courts," and his greatestenemy, the arrogant patrician Clodius. From the accusation of patricide to cover up a fraudulent property conspiracy in the murder of Sextus Roscius, to the serial poisoner Cluentius and the high-profile prosecution of Clodius himself for allegedly disguising himself as a lute girl at a sacredceremony to attempt a tryst with Caesar's wife, the cases feature an irresistible cast of swindlers,political schemers, and poisoners in the upper echelons of late Roman society. But all too quickly,the tables turn on Cicero, whose very livelihood becomes caught up in a cycle of exile, murder,and revenge at the intersection of law and politics. Far from restoring a sense of justice, the courtswere nakedly exploited as an arena for political conflict, which in turned swayed judicial outcomesand the deterioration of late Roman society. As well as the drama of the courts this book alsooffers a morality story for our times about how the state of a nation's legal systems reflects thehealth of the nation as a whole.