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32 Litig. 59 (2005-2006)
The Trial of Levi Weeks

handle is hein.journals/laba32 and id is 137 raw text is: Legal Lore The Trial of Levi Weeks by Robert and Marilyn Aitken What a trial! A dead 22-year-old woman. A celebrity defense team star- ring political enemies Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. A young, charismatic defendant. A prosecutor so fatigued after a marathon presentation during which he had not slept for 44 hours that he was unable to give a clos- ing argument. The judge's charge to the jury, assuring the outcome. A jury that deliberated and returned in five minutes with a verdict. Who killed Gulielma Sands? Thanks to Court Clerk William Coleman's transcript, the first American verbatim report of a criminal trial, the Levi Weeks trial of 1800 still commands our attention. Once past the quaint phrasing of the indictment and the free-flowing testimony, the trial seems strikingly con- temporary. The prosecutor builds his case on circumstantial evidence but is toppled by his own witness. The defense team is formidable. All-stars Burr and Hamilton are joined by prominent lawyer Henry Brockholst Livingston. Constructing their defense, they stomp across the reputation of any- one in their way. Expert witnesses testify. Newspapers feed the clamor. Missing are jury accommodations, advanced medical science and CNN. New York City: 1799 Gulielma Sands, known as Elma, lived in the New York City boarding house of Catherine and Elias Ring. In Robert Aitken, an associate editor of LmGATION, practices law in Palos Verdes Estates, California. Marilyn Aitken is a freelance writer Winter 2006 5 9 Volume 32 June 1799, Levi Weeks arrived as a boarder. Levi spread his attentions among the three young women in the household. In late August, frightened by a yellow fever epidemic, the women except for Elma left the city. Alone in the house with Elias and some paying guests, Elma and Levi began an affair. Levi enjoyed the fling. For Elma, it was an opportunity. Levi would be quite a catch. Lurking in the background was an unsavory roomer, Richard Croucher. The women returned in September. Sadness filled the city on December 14 when George Washington died, but Elma looked forward to a happier occasion. On the evening of Sunday, December 22, Catherine helped Elma dress for a secret wedding to Levi. She heard the pair leave the house. Twelve days later, on January 2, 1800, Elma's body was found in the water at the bottom of Manhattan Well. The crowds that came to see her body were so large that the open coffin was moved to the street. Levi Weeks was arrested and charged with murder. From 1784 to 1800, Jeffersonian Republican Aaron Burr and Federalist Alexander Hamilton, together or in opposition, appeared in almost every major case. Levi Weeks was employed as a carpenter by his brother Ezra, a prosperous builder. Ezra had worked with architect John McComb to con- struct The Grange, Hamilton's country house. Ezra had provided supplies for the Manhattan Company water system, Burr's business venture. The Manhattan Company owned Manhattan Well. J. Parton, Life and Times of Aaron Burr (1858). LITIGATION Number2

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