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N. Judges - Shofetim"In the fourteenth book I will include commandments that are the responsibility of the courts, such as the death penalty and the acceptance of testimony and laws regarding the king and his wars. And I have called this book the Book of Judges".79. Courts and their Punishments - Sanhedrin veha-Oneshin ha-Mesurin LahemWe are commanded to appoint judges and court officials in every part of the land of Israel, as it says "You shall set up judges and officers in all your gates".1 The court at the Temple, which is called the Sanhedrin, has 71 members. This court is responsible for crowning the king; declaring war; enlarging the Temple or the city of Jerusalem; judging tribes or cities who were incited to idolatry, false prophets, and rebellious elders; judging capital cases involving the high priest; appointing lower courts; and dealing with persons found murdered and wives suspected of adultery. Capital cases are tried by courts having 23 members; they can be tried only when the Temple and Sanhedrin exist. No court can have less than three members; however, an individual may also act as a judge if he is a known expert or has the permission of a court.aIt is forbidden to appoint judges who are not experts in the Torah, as it says "You shall not show preference in judgment",2 and it says "And they shall stand there with you"3 -- they must be like you (i.e., like Moses). A judge must be wise, humble, G-d-fearing, a despiser of wealth, a lover of truth, loved by the people, and of good repute, as it says "Men who are wise and understanding and known to your tribes",4 and it says "Men of valor, G-d-fearing, men of truth, haters of profit".5 For all cases except purely monetary matters not involving fines at least one of the judges must be ordained.bIf the judges disagree we are commanded to follow the opinion of the majority, as it says "To bend after the many"6; and for the death penalty there must be a majority of at least two, as it says "You shall not be after the many to do evil".6 In capital cases a judge must form his own opinion and is forbidden to follow the opinions of others; and once he has argued for acquittal he is forbidden to argue for conviction, as it says "You shall not answer on a dispute to bend".6 A court that has sentenced someone to death is forbidden to eat for the rest of the day, as it says "You shall not eat on the blood".7,cThe courts administer four death penalties: stoning, burning, beheading, and strangling. The first three are explicitly specified in the Torah for various sins, and the punishment for murder too is beheading. It is a tradition received from Moses that whenever the Torah does not specify the manner of execution strangling is meant. The courts are commanded to administer these penalties to those who deserve them; and there is a special prohibition against not executing a convicted sorcerer, as it says "You shall not let a sorceress live".8 We are commanded to hang a male idolator or blasphemer after he is executed, but it is forbidden to leave him hanging overnight, as it says "And if there is in a man a sin for which he is sentenced to death you shall hang him on a tree; his carcass shall not stay overnight on the tree... for the cursing of G-d [he] is hung",9 and it says "[And a person that acts highhandedly...] blasphemes Ha-Shem".10 We are commanded to bury executed persons on the day of their execution, as it says "For you shall bury him on that day".9,d..