Masurius Sabinus, also Massurius, was a Roman jurist who lived in the time of Tiberius (reigned 14–37 AD).Juan Luis Vives, Early Writings (Brill, 1991), vol. 2, p. 87. Unlike most jurists of the time, he was not of senatorial rank and was admitted to the equestrian order only rather late in life,O.F. Robinson, The Sources of Roman Law: Problems and Methods for Ancient Historians (Routledge, 1997), p. 8. by virtue of his exceptional abilityFrederick Tomkins, The Institutes of Roman Law (London, 1867), p. 119. and imperial patronage. Masurius was the first person to give "state-certified opinions" (publice respondere),Digest 1.2.2,48–50. Alan Watson, The Digest of Justinian (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998), n.p. online. 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.Robinson, Sources of Roman Law, p. 8. 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.Kaius Tuori, Ancient Roman Lawyers and Modern Legal Ideals: Studies on the Impact of Contemporary Concerns in the Interpretation of Ancient Roman Legal History (Vittorio Klostermann, 2007), p. 75.
