- The seven חקירות asked to עדים in דיני נפשות, and בדיקות
The fifth Perek begins: היו בודקין אותן בשבע חקירות – they would examine [the witnesses] with seven primary questions: in which seven-year cycle the crime was committed, which year of that cycle, which month, which day of the month, which day of the week, which hour, and in which place. These questions facilitate the possibility of the עדים being discredited through hazamah, which requires identifying the precise time and place of the alleged incident. [Naming the day of the week can help notify potential witnesses for hazamah who do not recall the day of the month]. Rebbe Yose says only three questions are asked: the day, the hour, and the place. The Mishnah proceeds to list questions asked about the details of the event and adds: כל המרבה בבדיקות הרי זה משובח – whoever increases the number of supplementary questions is praiseworthy. עדים who do not know the answer to a primary חקירה are disqualified (since hazamah is impossible), but not if they do not know the answer to secondary בדיקות. Still, if עדים contradict one another regarding such details, their testimony is invalid.
- The process for reaching a verdict in דינ נפשות
If the witnesses’ testimonies match, they begin the trial with a statement in favor of acquittal, as explained on Daf 32b. A judge’s student cannot argue in favor of conviction, but if he offers to argue for acquittal, מעלין אותו ומושיבין אותו ביניהם – [the judges] bring him up and seat him among themselves and hear his argument. Even the defendant may make a substantive argument on his own behalf. They may acquit that day, but a conviction must be postponed to the next day: they were divided into pairs, and they would eat less, not drink any wine, and deliberate through the night. The next day, they would state their position, and the Mishnah says that one may change from arguing for conviction to argue for acquittal, but not the reverse. When they vote, if a majority of one votes to acquit (twelve to eleven), he is acquitted. If twelve judges vote to convict and eleven to acquit, or if one judge says he does not know, even if the other twenty-two judges convict, they add two judges, and continue to do so until seventy-one, and attempt to reach a verdict.
- Source for the seven חקירות
Rav Yehudah provides the source for the seven חקירות: the passuk about עיר הנחדת says "ודרשת וחקרת ושאלת היטב" – you shall inquire, question, and ask thoroughly. Regarding עבודה זרה, it says "והוגד לך ושמעת ודרשת היטב" – if it will be told to you and you heard, and you thoroughly inquired. Regarding עדים זוממים it says "ודרשו השופטים היטב" – the judges shall inquire thoroughly. Together, there are seven expressions of investigation, because they are derived from each other. Although each has a unique stringency (the property of an עיר הנדחת is destroyed, עבודה זרה is punished with סקילה, and עדים זוממין are punished without התראה), they are derived from each other through a gezeirah shavah (היטב היטב). The Gemara proceeds to explain how the seven חקירות are extended to the other types of מיתת בית דין. Rebbe Yose only requires three חקירות, arguing that if witnesses say, “He murdered yesterday,” would they be asked for the year, month, etc.?! The Rabbonon counter that the same can be said of all time-related questions if the witnesses testified to a murder “just now.” Rather, the numerous חקירות are to harass the witnesses, so they might retract. Rebbe Yose, however, argues that most testimonies are about an event the previous day.