"Are you aware we're making hist'ry? This is the first murder trial of our brand-new nation..."

-Non-Stop, Hamilton's line

"Our client Levi Weeks is innocent,"

-Non-Stop, Burr's line

Who exactly is Levi Weeks and why should his name be graced to be in one of Lin's plays? (Let's be honest here)

And what's this about a first ever murder trial?

Well, my fellow Hamiltrash, let me tell you a story.....

Nah.

I ain't got time for that.

However, I will tell you what I know about Levi Weeks.

"Gulielma 'Elma' Sands disappeared on the evening of December 22, 1799. Before leaving her boarding house that evening, Elma told her cousin Catherine Sands that she was to be secretly married that night to the man who had been courting her, Levi Weeks. A few days after Elma Sands vanished, a young boy found the muff she had been wearing in the Manhattan Well. On January 2, 1800, Sands' body was recovered from that well and a medical examination disclosed that she was pregnant. Shortly afterward, a Grand Jury indicted Levi Weeks for the murder of Elma Sands.

Levi Weeks was the brother of Ezra Weeks, a prominent citizen, and through his brother's wealth and connections Weeks retained three of New York's most prominent attorneys, Henry Brockholst Livingston, Aaron Burr, and Alexander Hamilton to represent him at the trial. The court consisted of three judges, Chief Justice John Lansing, Jr., Mayor Richard Harrison and Recorder Richard Varick. The prosecutor was Assistant Attorney General and future Mayor of New York, Cadwallader David Colden. The trial, the first recorded murder trial in the United States, took place on March 31 and April 1, 1800."

"....Chief Judge Lansing instructed the jury that there was not sufficient proof against Levi Weeks to warrant a decision against him, but he stopped short of a directed verdict. The jury, deliberating for only five minutes, acquitted Weeks of the crime. Although the State had failed to establish its case, and Judge Lansing's instruction was proper, his charge to the jury was widely criticized. The public strongly disagreed with the verdict and Weeks was generally ostracized, forcing him to leave New York."

-http://nycourts.gov/history/legal-history-new-york/legal-history-eras-02/history-new-york-legal-eras-people-weeks.html

A/N:

So that's the Levi Weeks Murder Trial. Fascinating. For a History-Buff like moi.

I hope you'll forgive the fact that I'm quoting most facts from the source directly, rather than paraphrasing and putting it in my own words. 1) I feel that the websites word it better than I could ever put it, and 2) I'm worried about plagiarizing.

If you prefer that I tell you the facts in my own words, just let me know!