New York State Supreme Court Building

"Here in this courtroom the judgment is yours and yours alone."

- Matt Murdock

The New York State Supreme Court Building, originally known as the New York County Courthouse, houses the Civil and Appellate Terms of the for the state's First Judicial District as well as the offices of the New York County Clerk.

Opening Statement
During the first day of the trial against John Healy, Foggy Nelson explained to the jury that, according to the laws of the state of New York, it was not required that Healy proved he was not justified in killing Prohaszka in self-defense as he claimed, instead, the prosecution must prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that Healy was not justified in defending his life.

Nelson was sure that the prosecution would not be able to do it, so he told the jury that the only verdict that can be achieved would be "not guilty". Matt Murdock congratulated Nelson for his speech, and the judge began to speak to the jury about the importance of the case.

Murdock heard the heartbeat of one of the members of the jury, as it was unusually fast, as if she was nervous, and then she heard James Wesley entering the room, hearing the wristwatch he was also wearing when Wesley visited their office.

Closing Argument
During the second day of the trial, the judge granted a motion to excuse the female juror that had been coerced during the trial, alleging personal reasons, and she was replaced by an alternate juror. The judge then prompted the defense attorneys to make a closing argument, so Matt Murdock stepped and stood right in front of the jury.

Murdock remained silent for a while, listening to the jurors' heartbeats, and making John Healy to ask what was he doing. Foggy Nelson made a gesture to indicate that all was fine, but the judge prompted Murdock to begin.

Murdock began reflecting about morality and what was right or wrong. He did not denied the question that Healy killed a man, as he began to state facts that do not have moral judgment, as they were not there to judge Healy's intentions or if he was a good man or not.

The facts that Murdock began to explain were that Healy claimed he killed Prohaszka in self-defense, that Prohaszka's associates refused to make any statement about what happened, that the only witness that was not involved was a young woman who was frightened, who did not see the incident until after it had started, and that said that Healy had been pleasant and friendly before that.

Murdock reminded the jury that based on those facts, the prosecution had failed to prove that Healy acted in self-defense beyond reasonable doubt, as it was required to charge Healy according to the laws of the state of New York. Murdock finished his argument saying that according to the law, Healy must be acquitted of every charge, but that he maybe face another kind of judgment beyond the walls of the court building.

Verdict
The trial was resumed, and while everyone in the room proceeded to seat as the judge, Matt Murdock listened to the members of the jury, realizing another one of them had an unusually fast heart rate, meaning nervousness. Murdock correctly guessed the jury were hung and had not reach a verdict.

The judge examined a note, and then she addressed to the jury to ask if she had correctly understood the note and they had not reach a verdict. The foreperson, the old woman whose heartbeat Murdock heard, ratified that the had not.

Foggy Nelson explained to John Healy what would happen next, as the judge would send the jury again to deliberate, and if they do not reach a verdict that second time, the District Attorney would retry the case. Murdock knew something was wrong, and the trial would not be fair, so he wondered if they would not reach it.

Healy, not realizing what Murdock tried to insinuate, congratulated him for his speech, so Murdock began to think what he should do next as the judge began to speak.