Abraham Lincoln Impeaching a Witness

In 1858, William "Duff" Armstrong was tried in the Circuit Court of Illinois for the murder of James Metzker on the night of August 29, 1857. The State's star witness was Charles Allen, who testified on direct examination that he had seen Armstrong strike Metzker in the eye with a slingshot.

Mr. Duff’s defense attorney was a young man named Abraham Lincoln.

This book, and all H2O books, are Creative Commons licensed for sharing and re-use with the exception of certain excerpts. Any excerpts from the Restatements of the Law, Principles of the Law, and the Model Penal Code are copyright by The American Law Institute. Excerpts are reproduced with permission, not as part of a Creative Commons license.