After the failed search, Jakob did what a righteous man does when falsely accused. He opened his tents. Having, therefore, searched all my vessels, what hast thou found of all the vessels of thy house? (Genesis 31:37).
Then he said the line that makes the whole scene a formal legal proceeding: Lay now the matter before my brethren and thy brethren, and let them decide the truth between us two. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves the demand for adjudication.
Laban had arrived as prosecutor, judge, and executioner in one person. Jakob refused that arrangement. He called in witnesses — his own kinsmen and Laban's together — and turned the confrontation from a private ambush into a public tribunal.
It is the instinct of a man raised by Isaac and grandson of Abraham: no accusation without witnesses, no verdict without a bench. The desert might be empty, but the court of righteousness could convene anywhere.
The Maggid teaches: when falsely accused, do not defend yourself alone. Call witnesses. Turn the private slander into a public deliberation. The truth has a better chance when more eyes are watching it.