After the apostle Paul was arrested in Jerusalem, he was held in prison for a long time. Governor Felix did not know quite what to do with him. Felix wanted to stay on the good side of the Jewish leaders who wanted Paul to be condemned, but at the same time he could not identify anything that Paul had done wrong. He was also hoping for a bribe. Felix was succeeded by Festus, and Acts chapter 25 describes what happened with Festus.
Just a few days after Festus arrived in the province, the Jewish leaders put their case against Paul to him in Jerusalem, and a week or so later he convened a tribunal at Caesarea. As was the case when Felix had tried the matter, the outcome was inconclusive. The serious allegations against Paul were unproved, and it was impossible to make a decision which would please everyone. Festus wanted to re-hear the matter in Jerusalem, and to avoid this outcome Paul indicated that he was appealing to Caesar.
So Festus now had a new dilemma: what exactly was the charge against Paul, and what decision was Paul appealing against? Some local celebrities, King Agrippa and Queen Bernice, came to visit, so he used the occasion to entertain them with an audience with Paul, while hoping that they would help him fill out the charge sheet that was to be sent with Paul to Caesar.