Note 2 at Acts 25:12: The right of a Roman citizen to appeal unto Caesar was a sacred thing. Any magistrate who disregarded an appeal to Caesar would suffer the severest condemnation of the Roman government. Paul's appeal to Caesar obligated Festus to send Paul to Rome to stand trial before Caesar, and also "took him off the hook" with the Jews. Once the appeal was made, the matter was out of Festus' hands. The Jews could not condemn him for not bowing to their demands.