The romantic hero is defined by his/her "dissociation [...] from the common law" (C. Baron). Within the alreadymature field of interdisciplinary research in "law and literature" s/he has therefore traditionally been seen as an "unreliable auxiliary of the judge" ( ibid.), unable, given his/her exceptionality, of inspiring a judge in his daily judicial activity. Nonetheless, as the prosecuting attorney Villefort reminds the Count of Monte Cristo, as soon as the romantic hero is in a specific nation, s/he is theoretically subject to its laws; s/he must therefore be careful not to visibly break the law if he wants to hold on to his precious freedom. This paper focuses on the strategies heroes use to escape, most of the time, the rule of law, and maintain the reader as sole judge of the legitimacy of their actions. And finally, it purposes to reflect upon the issues involved in fairly representing Julien Sorel’s trial, taking as its point of departure the pleas his case has already inspired on the part of different lawyers.