Perhaps the most ambitious of the Great Reforms was the judicial reform of 1864, the creation of Alexander II's enlightened bureaucrats. Their goal was no less than the establishment of a modern independent judiciary, which would, in turn, perform a crucial role in the modernization of Russian society as a whole. By applying the law fairly, equally, and impartially, the new courts would displace customary law and old patronage systems. Formally autonomous from provincial government within the domain of the justice ministry, they would also limit the arbitrary exercise of administrative power, especially by the governor. Although such ambitious goals were never achieved, the reform partially institutionalized an ideal of the Rechtsstaat into the Russian environment and led to a fundamental restructuring of the court system. No longer were verdicts reached in closed sessions and drawing upon written summaries. With public jury trials introduced in criminal cases, the accused now possessed the right to mount a defense, and an oral, adversarial procedure became the norm. Similarly, the weight previously accorded the confession was displaced by a new emphasis on objective standards of evidence.