Masurius Sabinus

Masurius Sabinus, also Massurius, was a Roman jurist who lived in the time of Tiberius. Unlike most jurists of the time, he was not of senatorial rank and was admitted to the equestrian order only rather late in life, by virtue of his exceptional ability and imperial patronage. Masurius was the first person to give "state-certified opinions" (publice respondere), a privilege granted by the emperor which marked increasing imperial control over the judicial process after the end of the Roman Republic. Before the Principate of Augustus, the value of legal opinions was based on the expertise of those who gave them. The passage in the Digest of Justinian that discusses the granting of Masurius's authority is thus a pivotal point in the history of Roman law.