BIOGRAPHY -- Page 34
Nelson & Murdock found themselves in a deeply awkward legal situation when a man came to their offices looking to sue Daredevil. After Matt successfully defended a wrongful termination lawsuit (brought by the unscrupulous and fame-seeking attorney Claude Unger), he had a surprise walk-in from philanthropist Samuel Griggs. Mr. Griggs explained how the rooftop garden of his penthouse was virtually destroyed several nights ago. He personally observed Daredevil fighting a pair of ninja as they crashed through his greenhouse roof and did what was later 
estimated as $50,000 in damage to his property before the fighting carried them to another rooftop. Griggs wanted to take a stand against the reckless activity of masked vigilantes. Though he didn’t hate Daredevil or super-heroes as a concept, he felt they needed to be held accountable by the law just like everyone else. In addition to their fee, Griggs was also willing to donate $100,000 to the foundation for the blind if Nelson & Murdock took his case.
Matt and Foggy retired to consider Griggs’ offer. Matt knew he had not been at Griggs’ penthouse the night in question, yet the man’s heartbeat clearly indicated he was telling the truth. Foggy rightfully worried about the ethical implications of Matt trying to sue himself, but Matt was concerned about how the case might proceed if he wasn’t handling it. Griggs had already mentioned Claude Unger was his first choice until Murdock’s victory against him that day. Against Foggy’s better judgment, Matt agreed to take the case, hoping he could find his “imposter” and manage Griggs’ lawsuit better from the inside. Almost immediately, though, Samuel Griggs proved 
to be a problem client. He called a press conference and announced the case to the media when Nelson & Murdock arrived to meet at his Long Island home. Realizing they were in for a circus, Matt and Foggy still proceeded with investigating Griggs’ estate and getting a taped account of his testimony.
Nelson & Murdock had a new in-house investigator, Elaine Kendrick, who took the initiative in trying to find a way to serve summons on an enigmatic figure like Daredevil. She made a public announcement that she would have the papers to serve Daredevil at city hall at a particular date and time, putting Daredevil’s good reputation on the line if he chose not to appear and be served. However, pro-Daredevil protestors grabbed her papers and burned them before Matt could decide whether he should show up. In the meantime, Matt took note that Jonathan Powers, the Jester, had finally completed his sentence and was released from prison. Jester interrupted spring 
training at a baseball stadium to announce his intention of “performing” at Merchant’s Bank the next day. Powers put on a bit of a show at the bank before Daredevil arrived to trade blows. In fact, Jester had been hired by Elaine as a process server, delivering the legal summons to Daredevil as they engaged. Powers technically didn’t rob the bank or commit any crime, merely relied upon Daredevil and the authorities assuming he would. The case of Griggs v. Daredevil was on.
Realizing it was now impossible to keep the case from going to court, Matt recognized that “Daredevil” needed a lawyer. Kate Vinokur was a solo practitioner with a good reputation, who also didn’t ask him to reveal his secret identity to her for the case. He arranged for her to have a private number to reach him by beeper to discuss their case. Kate and Daredevil agreed that, in the absence of an alibi, the case essentially came down to Griggs’ word against his. Their defense was therefore to establish reasonable doubt. Unfortunately, other witnesses started coming out of the woodwork to testify regarding Daredevil’s “reckless” behavior damaging property during his crime-fighting, from slamming punks into a passing car to crashing through skylights for a dramatic entrance.
Kate and Foggy negotiated the idea of a settlement between their clients. Griggs would agreed to $50,000 in damages for his property, plus another $50 grand in punitive damages donated to the crippled children’s society, as well as a private apology. Matt / Daredevil was thrilled at the idea of resolving everything out of court, but then Griggs changed his mind and went back to the media. 
He wanted to “force Daredevil’s hand” into accepting the offer AND giving him a public apology. Daredevil was already reluctant to apologize for something he didn’t do, in ANY forum, so he made a counter-statement to the press. He arranged for the Black Panther and other donors to assemble a $100,000 donation to the children’s autism foundation if and when Griggs dropped the suit. He also made the first, firm public statement denying any wrongdoing in the matter, and encouraged Griggs to “do the right thing.” At this point, trial was inevitable.
Matt Murdock and Kate Vinokur met to negotiate conditions for the trial. Griggs refused to waive a trial by jury, but they jointly petitioned the judge for the earliest trial date possible, due to extenuating circumstances. As Nelson & Murdock prepared for trial, Elaine discovered that Griggs called the police the night of the incident using a cell phone registered to his mistress rather than his house phone. Matt spoke to Ms. Marlene Belden, who confirmed Griggs was with her at her place the night of the incident, not his estate, though she refused to testify to that in court. Despite their weak case, the alternate theories and the potential attacks on his character and private life, Griggs remained rigidly adamant about pursuing the case.
Mere days after Nelson & Murdock laid out the lack of witnesses problem for Griggs, a new witness magically appeared on their doorstep. A man named Paul Bradlee claimed to have seen Daredevil and the ninja in the immediate vicinity of the Griggs estate on the night in question. As before, Bradlee’s heartbeat told Matt that he, at least, believed what he was saying. However, their assistant Mrs. Barbato brought it to Matt and Foggy’s attention that both Griggs and Bradlee used the phrase “like ethereal spirits into the night” for their recorded statements, a very dubious coincidence for two men who supposedly had never met. With a background check, they determined that Paul Bradlee was a janitor at the same building where Samuel Briggs regularly saw his therapist, “Arnold Quaid.”
Daredevil thought he had a break in the mystery and raced to Doctor Quaid’s offices. He found “Quaid” was actually Miguel Eloganto, the Matador. Eloganto freely admitted to using hypnosis, 
drugs and other mental therapies in his sessions, and laughed at Daredevil’s threats because there was no law against implanting false memories. A furious Daredevil manhandled the Matador into a taxi to dramatically show Griggs the truth about his therapist. When he stormed into the Griggs Foundation, however, Eloganto suddenly claimed to have no idea what Daredevil was talking about. Griggs confirmed that Dr. Quaid was a redheaded man who looked very different from Eloganto. Daredevil soon realized that Miguel Eloganto was another hypnotized pawn of the real Arnold Quaid, fed a false identity primed to dissolve if confronted with Griggs. The conspiracy against Daredevil was very, very real, but now he looked even more foolish than ever to the public, thanks to the Foundation’s hidden security cameras.
Matt Murdock’s efforts to track down the real Arnold Quaid proved fruitless, and he had to start preparing himself to appear on both sides of a courtroom at once. Following the agreement from both sides, Judge Steinberg accepted that Daredevil’s “real identity” was irrelevant to the suit, since his alleged actions were performed in his costumed identity, allowing him to appear in court and testify without unmasking. In a maneuver that went from tightrope-walking with the letter of the law to swan diving off of it, Matt had Spider-Man appear in court wearing a Daredevil costume while Murdock sat with the plaintiff. In order to avoid implicating Kate in this travesty of legal ethics, they did not explain the situation to her in advance. She still realized the man sitting next to her was not her client, however, and tried to dial her real client’s beeper… only to see Matt Murdock’s beeper go off at the opposing counsel’s table.
The case went forward and all evidence was presented. Spider-Man testified to Daredevil’s version of events on the stand and under oath told the truth that he was nowhere near the Griggs estate on the night in question. However, he also told the truth and claimed he never went to the Griggs Foundation and ranted about hypnotism conspiracies, despite the video evidence of “Daredevil” doing that. He correctly stated it was someone else in a Daredevil costume. At the same time Foggy was cross-examining Spider-Man in court, Matt received an “anonymous tip” 
and sent Elaine Kendrick out to Times Square. Elaine took video evidence showing Daredevil (Matt in his costume) performing his traditional acrobatic feats, at the same time that Spider-Man (in a Daredevil costume) was on the witness stand. When the courtroom Daredevil was also capable of dramatic acrobatics, Matt hoped to seed the jury’s mind with reasonable doubt as to the identity of the “real” Daredevil, and therefore the identity of the figure seen by Samuel Griggs at his greenhouse.
What Matt had no control over was the arrival of a THIRD Daredevil smashing through the window of the courtroom. This was a man named Terrence Hillman who (Matt would eventually learn later) was an out-of-work actor and gymnast who independently decided to “save” Daredevil and claim the spotlight. Hillman unmasked in court and claimed to be the original Daredevil, responsible for 
the Griggs incident, who was now retiring and turning the mantle over to the Daredevil on the witness stand. He provided Griggs with a cashier’s check for the damages and an apology before basking in the attention of the media. Kate pushed immediately for a mistrial and Foggy pressured Griggs into accepting before he made them all look even worse.
The aftermath was equally bizarre. Daredevil confirmed to his satisfaction that Hillman was an innocent party, if a bit self-serving. He was trying to impress a girl, and figured he could get a book deal and tour as “the former Daredevil.” Doctor Arnold Quaid finally came forward and met with Daredevil, revealing himself as the Ringmaster of the Circus of Crime. The Ringmaster explained he was responsible for programming Griggs’ memories, guiding his decisions and keeping him involved in the lawsuit past its realistic chances of success. Eloganto and Bradlee were also subjects of his hypnosis. The entire incident was merely a field test of hypnotic technology he hoped to use in the future for further gain. And, like Eloganto had told Daredevil, there’s no law against giving people false memories. Daredevil’s relationship with Kate Vinokur also didn’t 
survive the trial. Kate chose not to confirm or deny her suspicions about Daredevil and Matt Murdock, but she felt used by her client and his body double, despite his reasonable arguments about keeping her in the dark. Daredevil asked her out for a drink, and she passed. Foggy consoled Matt about the whole debacle afterwards, reminding him that everybody followed through on the charitable donations, so at least there was something resembling a happy ending after all. [Daredevil (2nd series) #20-25]
Not all of Matthew’s cases had that happy ending. He was hired by Emily Flood to defend her son Joel in Redemption Valley, Alabama. Joel was an outcast in town, not just for his taste in music and Satanism, but because he was a “child of sin” born when his mother was raped by her grandfather. As a result, Joel was blamed when little Bradley Gideon went missing and was found brutally murdered in the woods. Matt Murdock and his intern Constance Macdermid tried their best to demonstrate Joel’s innocence, but corruption and prejudice in the town had the judge, the police and the public against them. Joel was convicted at trial and sentenced to death, a sentenced which was ultimately carried out years later. Within a matter of days, Howard Gideon finally came clean over murdering his son, but it was far too late for justice to be done. [Daredevil: Redemption #1-6]
A European criminal cartel known as the Brothers Grace started a gang war in New York as they prepared to seize territory for themselves. Daredevil, Black Widow and Punisher joined forces to oppose the Graces, along with Natasha’s North Korean police contact, Helen Kim. Through Kim and S.H.I.E.L.D., they learned the Graces were well-connected in the intelligence community internationally, meaning higher authorities could not step in to deal with the crimelords. It was up to the local vigilantes to make a difference. Matt stomached working with the Punisher in order to deal with the utterly amoral and sadistic Graces and their captains. [Marvel Knights (2nd series) #1-6]