Beside the Roman Pantheon stood Notre-Dame, a Dominican monastery and the place where the Roman Religious Tribunal delivered its verdicts.
The greatest difference between the Roman Religious Tribunal and the Inquisition lay in the review of books. Although Galileo had been tried by the religious tribunal over a book, it was the Inquisition that established the Index of Forbidden Books and banned publications, and it was also the Inquisition that issued publishing licenses.
People of that era had no presumption of innocence. Everyone who was reported was considered guilty until they cleared themselves of suspicion, which was why divine judgment was needed. Trial by Water was rather difficult to understand, though. Whether those tied to stones and thrown into the water floated or sank to the bottom, they generally had little chance of surviving.
Another method was called the Hot Iron Ordeal. The accused carried a red-hot iron bar for nine feet, after which their burns were bandaged. If their hand healed, it proved they had God's protection because they were innocent; if the wound festered, it proved their guilt.
During the Salem witch trials, it was not a religious tribunal. Once the accused appeared in court, if the accuser suffered pain or some supernatural phenomenon occurred, it could serve as evidence that the accused was a witch.
Suspicion had to be distinguished between "reasonable" and merely "suspicion." In any case, a court was a place for reasoned argument.
After Harry used Expecto Patronum, Fudge summoned him for questioning. Though it was only a hearing, the entire Wizengamot attended.
A judgment without reasoning was law's greatest enemy. An explanation for a ruling had to be persuasive, but it also had to be understood by the parties involved—not merely in its literal meaning, but also in terms of the principle of