Leges Clodiae

Leges Clodiae ("Clodian Laws") were a series of laws (plebiscites) passed by the Plebeian Council of the Roman Republic under the tribune Publius Clodius Pulcher in 58 BC. Clodius was a member of the patrician family ("gens") Claudius; the alternative spelling of his name is sometimes regarded as a political gesture. With the support of Julius Caesar, who held his first consulship in 59 BC, Clodius had himself adopted into a plebeian family in order to qualify for the office of Tribune of the Plebs, which was not open to patricians. Clodius was famously a bitter opponent of Cicero.

One law, the Lex Clodia de Auspiciis ("The Law of Clodius on the Auspices"), prevented the Roman Magistrates, who presided over the legislative assemblies, from dissolving the assemblies (specifically, the Tribal Assembly), by declaring that unfavorable omens (auspices) had been observed. This had been an ordinary form of legislative obstruction for centuries, and was formally codified around the year 150 BC by the Lex Aelia et Fufia. Pompey, for example, was known to have used this obstructive device at least once. Thus, in effect, this law repealed the Lex Aelia et Fufia.

Another law, the Lex Clodia de Censoribus ("The Law of Clodius on the Censors"), prescribed certain rules for the Roman Censors in exercising their functions as inspectors of public morals (mores). It also required the concurrence of both Censors to inflict the nota censoria. During the census (conducted once every five years), the Censors could place a nota next to the name of a citizen, usually for offenses such as bankruptcy, cowardice, or having been a gladiator. If a citizen had a nota placed besides his name, he was subject to a range of penalties, including fines, exile, assignment to an inferior tribe for voting purposes, or even the loss of his citizenship. Thus, by requiring concurrence for the placement of a nota, this law placed an additional check on the powers of the Censors. This was typically the only act that required the concurrence of both Censors. Also, when a senator had been already convicted before an ordinary court, this law permitted the Censors to remove him from the senate in a summary way. This law was repealed in 54 BC by the Lex Caecilia De Censoria, which was enacted by a political enemy of Clodius, Metellus Scipio.

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