Quintus Pilius Celer was a Roman orator and a relative (likely the brother) of Atticus’ wife, Pilia, whose speeches Cicero regarded highly. Cicero did not want to read a fictional declamation by him, but rather watched his actual legal and political speeches unfold in court and the Senate. [1, 2, 3, 4]

The primary historical context involving Quintus Pilius Celer in Cicero’s circle centers on two major events:

1. The Extortion Case Against Marcus Servilius (51 BC)

Cicero followed Pilius' high-profile courtroom work closely through letters sent by Marcus Caelius Rufus (Ad Familiares, 8.8). [1]

• The Subject: Pilius initiated a massive legal prosecution against Marcus Servilius for extortion (repetundae). Pilius successfully won a preliminary legal battle (divinatio) against a competing prosecutor, Appius Claudius Minor, to secure the sole right to lead the case. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• The Drama: The trial became an absolute sensation in Rome because Appius then exposed a massive bribe of 81 sestertia (deposited to rig the trial), sparking heavy public gossip that Cicero read about while away in his province. [1, 2]

2. The Urgent Dispatches to the Senate (43 BC)

Later in life, Pilius played a pivotal, dramatic role in delivering state communications right after the assassination of Julius Caesar, recorded in Cicero's letters to Brutus (Ad Brutum, 1.5/2.5). [1, 2]

• The Subject: On April 13, 43 BC, Pilius arrived in Rome "in hot haste" carrying two highly sensitive political dispatches from Mark Antony and Brutus. [1, 2]
• Cicero's reaction: Reading the letters in the Senate caused an absolute uproar. Cicero wrote with heavy, biting irony about Pilius' sudden appearance, mocking his dramatic flair and "aplomb" on the political stage. [1, 2, 3]

If you are looking for a specific Latin speech fragment or line from Pilius' prosecution of Servilius, let me know and I can pull the original text from Caelius' updates to Cicero! [1]

and case against servilius proceeded how?

The case against Marcus Servilius proceeded as a legal disaster filled with political backstabbing, technical blunders, and a highly irregular verdict. [1, 2]

The exact progression of events, as detailed by Marcus Caelius Rufus in his letters to Cicero (Ad Familiares, 8.8), unfolded across three distinct phases: [1, 2, 3, 4]

1. The Pre-Trial Dismissal & Betrayal

Before Quintus Pilius Celer could launch his formal extortion trial (de repetundis), a rival prosecutor stepped in. A young patrician named Appius Claudius Minor filed a competing charge of "wrongful possession" against Servilius. [1, 2]

• Appius was actually trying to expose a massive bribe that Servilius had supposedly pocketed from Appius' own father (Gaius Claudius Pulcher) to rig an earlier trial. [1]
• Pilius challenged Appius for the right to prosecute, but in the preliminary hearing (divinatio), Appius chickened out, refused to debate Pilius, and conceded the extortion case to him. [1, 2]

2. The Praetor's Blunder and the Tie Vote

Despite giving up the extortion lead, Appius still pushed ahead with his lesser charge of wrongful possession. The trial quickly descended into chaos. [1]

• When the jury cast their ballots, the votes were perfectly tied. [1]
• Under Roman law, a tie vote should have resulted in an automatic acquittal. However, the presiding judge—the praetor Marcus Iuventius Laterensis—made a catastrophic, illegal blunder while recording the verdict. [1, 2, 3]
• Laterensis essentially left the verdict unrecorded or botched the tally, leaving Servilius in complete legal limbo: he was legally neither acquitted nor condemned. [1, 2, 3]

3. The Aftermath: "A Well-Matched Pair"

The botched trial ruined everyone's reputation, exactly as Caelius gleefully reported to Cicero: [1, 2, 3]

• Servilius was left functionally ruined, with a shattered reputation and his finances completely depleted. Because he was never formally acquitted of the tied charge, he was left completely exposed to Pilius’ looming, separate criminal trial for extortion. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• Appius completely ruined himself in the process. By airying out his family's dirty laundry in court, he exposed his own father's corruption. In a swift act of revenge, Servilius' family immediately counter-sued Appius for extortion, while one of Appius' own hired henchmen sued him for political violence. [1, 2]

Caelius summarized the chaotic outcome to Cicero with biting sarcasm: "They are a worthy pair!" [1]

If you want to look at the exact Latin text from Caelius describing the tied jury votes or Laterensis' judicial error, let me know!

L'AI può commettere errori, quindi verifica le risposte 

and pilius won the extortion charge?

Historically, the final outcome of Quintus Pilius Celer’s actual extortion trial (de repetundis) against Marcus Servilius remains a blank spot in Roman history because the surviving letters from Caelius Rufus to Cicero cut off right before the final verdict. [1]

Historians only know the immediate, chaotic setup: [1]

• The Setup: Because the preliminary trial under Appius resulted in an unresolved tie vote, Marcus Servilius was left legally "wounded in reputation" (saucius). As Caelius explicitly wrote to Cicero in Ad Familiares 8.8, Servilius was essentially handed over to Pilius on a silver platter to be picked apart in the separate extortion trial. [1]
• The Likelihood: Given that popular rumor was already fervently shouting for Servilius's absolute ruin (de damnatione ferventer loqui est coeptum) and his finances were completely drained, Pilius held a massive upper hand. [1, 2]

However, since Roman court records from 51 BC have not survived outside of Cicero’s personal mail, we lack the final sentence stating whether Pilius formally won the conviction or if Servilius fled Rome into exile beforehand to avoid a heavy fine. [1]

If you are interested, I can look into what happened next to Quintus Pilius Celer’s political career under Julius Caesar or find more details on how Roman extortion penalties (repetundae) worked during this era![1, 2]