Eh, Romans knew in the imperial period that their rights ended when the emperor or someone serving him threatened them, and non-citizens had separate rights. People from outside the empire had no rights inside it. There were still things you couldn't do to them, but the crime was the action you performed, not what they received (e. i. If you ate a foreigner the charge was just eating human flesh, whereas if you hurt a citizen the crime was someone injured a citizen). And in practice the patricians knew no one had rights when they couldn't get a lawyer.
If you had money you brought stocky guards with you and they kept you safe. Other privileges could be bribeb into existence, unless dealing with a particularly patriotic Roman, in which case you just found someone else to bribe. If you were wealthy enough and interested, you could try to become a citizen, or make friends with a patrician and have some of their privileges extended to you(not strictly speaking legally but no one could stop you). Or become close to the emperor and then there is no law over you.
Eh, Romans knew in the imperial period that their rights ended when the emperor or someone serving him threatened them, and non-citizens had separate rights. People from outside the empire had no rights inside it. There were still things you couldn't do to them, but the crime was the action you performed, not what they received (e. i. If you ate a foreigner the charge was just eating human flesh, whereas if you hurt a citizen the crime was someone injured a citizen). And in practice the patricians knew no one had rights when they couldn't get a lawyer.
i'm guessing money could "buy" rights if one was a wealthy non-citizen merchant or some such?
If you had money you brought stocky guards with you and they kept you safe. Other privileges could be bribeb into existence, unless dealing with a particularly patriotic Roman, in which case you just found someone else to bribe. If you were wealthy enough and interested, you could try to become a citizen, or make friends with a patrician and have some of their privileges extended to you(not strictly speaking legally but no one could stop you). Or become close to the emperor and then there is no law over you.