But plots were afoot to assassinate a scholarly Roman citizen in Roman custody. Luke actually claims only that the letter was 'after this pattern' and its contents could well have been divulged to Paul either directly or through a centurion. In modern times press 'leaks' happen all the time like the recent highly sensitive Patten report. It is extremely likely that amongst the 70 members of the Sanhedrin were secret or declared Christians and access to what went on could hardly even be termed a 'leak'. This again is absurd.
All authorities bend and break rules.
Many modern 'terrorist bombers' convicted in Britain have later been released after recognition of police irregularities and complete lack of evidence. The background is this. By the 1stC, Hebrew was studied by Jewish scholars but the common language in Judaea and Galilee was Aramaic. We know of no full written Aramaic version, but in synagogues, the Hebrew Torah was read followed by free Aramaic translation made by a targumist. Steven raised a number of questions around this.