Midras Ulangan 13:15: Midrash Tanchuma, Devarim Rabbah, Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael & Sifrei Devarim

How did they examine the witnesses? It is written: Then thou shalt inquire, and make search, and ask diligently, and behold if it be true (Deut. 13:15). At the time they examined the witnesses concerning a sin an individual had committed, the Sanhedrin and all the Israelites would go out into the public square. They brought there the individual who had been charged with the offense which required stoning or one of the four death penalties that were imposed by the Beth Din. Two or three of the most distinguished leaders of the community would come forth and would question the witness. After they returned from the cross-examination, a member of the Sanhedrin would say to them: “What is your decision?” They would announce whether he was to live or to die. If he were to be sentenced to stoning, they would bring a pleasant-tasting but potent wine, and give it to him to drink so that he would not suffer pain from the stoning. Then the witnesses would come, bind his hands and feet, and place him where the stoning was to occur. The witnesses would then take a large stone, (large) enough to kill him, and would place it upon his heart. How did they place it on his heart? They did so simultaneously in order that no one of them might lower his portion of the stone before his companion.⁴And therefore be solely responsible for his death. They would place it on his heart together to conform to the verse: Thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death (Deut. 13:10). After that all the Israelites were free to pelt him with stones. They did this to everyone condemned to death by the Beth Din.

Another interpretation, “judges and officers” – Rav Aḥa said: Come and see that Solomon’s throne had six stairs. From where is this derived? It is as it is stated: “There were six stairs to the throne” (I Kings 10:19). And in this passage, six matters are written as negative commandments, and they are: “You shall not distort judgment, you shall not give preference, and you shall not take a bribe” (Deuteronomy 16:19); “You shall not plant for you any kind of sacred tree” (Deuteronomy 16:21); “You shall not establish a monument for you” (Deuteronomy 16:22); “You shall not slaughter to the Lord your God an ox, or a lamb, [in which there is a blemish]” (Deuteronomy 17:1). There you have six. The herald would stand before Solomon’s throne, and when he [Solomon] would ascend the first stair, he would proclaim: “You shall not distort judgment”; for the second stair he would proclaim: “You shall not show preference”; for the third, he would proclaim: “And you shall not take a bribe”; for the fourth: “You shall not plant for you any kind of sacred tree”; for the fifth: “You shall not establish a monument for you”; for the sixth: “You shall not slaughter to the Lord your God […in which there is a blemish].”
Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: The protocol for a trial is as follows: The plaintiff states his claim, the defendant responds, and the judge renders a decision. Rabbi Sima said: The judge must orally review their claims. From whom can you learn this? From Solomon, as it is stated: “The king said: This one says: This is my living son, and your son is the dead one; and that one says: No, rather, your son is the dead one, and my son is the live one” (I Kings 3:23).
Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Ilai said: I heard that if a judge wishes to seat the litigants, he may seat them. What is it that is prohibited? There may not be one [litigant] sitting and the other one standing, as Rabbi Yishmael said: If there was a judge and two people came to him for judgment, one wealthy and one impoverished, he should say [to the wealthy one]: ‘Dress as he is dressed, or dress him as you are dressed.’
“You shall not show preference” (Deuteronomy 1:17) – Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, Rabbi Elazar said: If you [the judge], realize that justice is in his favor [one of the litigants], do not show him a favorable countenance, so he [the other litigant] should not say: ‘From the outset he sought to rule in his favor.’ Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: If you [the judge] know that justice is not in his favor, show him a favorable countenance, so he should not say: ‘From the outset he sought to convict me.’ Rabbi Ḥanina said: One verse says: “You shall judge fairly” (Deuteronomy 1:16),¹³This verse does not mention extensive investigation of the claims. and another verse says: “You shall inquire, interrogate, and ask diligently” (Deuteronomy 13:15). How can this be [resolved]? If you sense that the case [presented by one of the litigants] is fraudulent, interrogate him, but if you sense that the case is being resolved truthfully, judge him fairly.¹⁴Without interrogation.

Similarly, in the verse And he blotted out every living substance which was upon the face of the ground, both man and cattle (Gen. 7:3). He mentioned man first, because man was the first to sin, and after that he refers to beasts and creeping things. Likewise, since Scripture states: And they smote the men that were at the door with blindness, both small and great (ibid. 19:11), they smote the least important ones first and then the greater ones. Likewise, in accordance with the verse I will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, man was punished first and then the beast. Another illustration is in the verse Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword (Deut. 13:16). He smote the inhabitants of the city with the sword, and then he slew the cattle. Similarly, And her belly shall swell (Num. 5:27) is followed by And her thighs shall fall away. That is, the part of the body that sinned first was punished first. Is it not logical to conclude that if retribution is exacted first from the one who commits an evil deed first, then the reward for good deeds, whose reward is far greater, is dispensed according to the same rule.