<diacritize> Yet , its most serious restriction , notes scholar Emil Schurer , was that the Roman authorities could at any time take the initiative themselves and proceed independently , as in fact they did when they suspected a political offence . <yor>Yet , its most serious restriction , notes scholar Emil Schürer , was that the Roman authorities could at any time take the initiative themselves and proceed independently , as in fact they did when they suspected a political offence . 