Daredevil Resource
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Comics Buyer's Guide #1470 (18 January 2002)

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As with all Resource Reprints, The Daredevil Resource makes no claims to ownership or copyright of these articles. They are reprinted for archival purposes only and all copyrights are retained by the original authors as listed at the bottom of this page.

Additional note: The following column is also available on Bob Ingersoll's The Law is a Ass website, along with some additional commentary, as Installment #139 of Bob's columns.

Serving notice on Daredevil
Was it a jest or a crime?
by Bob Ingersoll

So, if the lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client, what's that say about the lawyer who's suing himself?

We're back in the increasingly familiar territory of "Playing to the Camera," the six-part story Bob Gale wrote for Daredevil #20-25. When we left Matt Murdock--successful attorney and secret identity of the super-hero Daredevil--he's just agreed to represent Samuel Griggs in a lawsuit against Daredevil for some damage caused to Griggs's greenhouse in a fight between Daredevil and some ninjas. In case you weren't paying attention, that means Matt would be suing himself.

Is that a problem, suing yourself? Nooooo. The law encourages such unethical conflicts of interest. Keeps unemployment down by giving all those people who investigate grievances against lawyers something to do.

Aside from the obvious conflict of interests, this lawsuit gave Matt some logistical problems -- like, how was he going to appear in court as both Matt Murdock and Daredevil? Still, that was a problem for another day. Today's problem, according to Matt, was how to serve Daredevil with the lawsuit. It's not as if Matt could say, "Look, I'm really Daredevil, so I'll accept service on myself." (Of course if he did, it would solve that whole "being in two places at the same time" problem.)

It's a shame the law schools in New York are so woefully underfinanced. That's the only explanation I have for why Matt's alma mater didn't have any Civil Procedure texts. If they had, Matt would have known personal service isn't required any longer.

You don't have to hire a process server to give a copy of the suit to the defendant in person. You can mail a copy to the defendant's last-known address. And, for defendants like Daredevil, who don't have a last-known address, you can have service by publication. Just announce the impending lawsuit in legal newspapers and other public media, and the law presumes the intended defendant will see the published notification and be served.

As I said, it's a shame Matt didn't know this. If he had, we could have avoided the nonsense with The Jester.

The Jester, a failed actor turned costumed villain from past issues of Daredevil, goes on television and announces he going to give a public performance in a bank at noon. And, sure enough, at noon, The Jester appears in full costume and announces, "This is not a robbery! It's a performance." He then bonks on the head a guard who's going for his gun--not hard but still a bonk--puts a satchel on the floor, tells everyone that, like all performers, he wants to be paid for his efforts, and asks them to give whatever they can.

He also produces a device that resembles a bomb and says, "Is this a bomb ... full of deadly nerve gas? ... Perhaps our bank president would ... provide me with an unsecured loan? In return for which I might make this infernal ticking stop."

That's when Daredevil swings in. He and Jester fight, until Jester hits him with the surprise ending of Daredevil #21: the service papers. Seems Matt's eager new investigator, Elaine Kendrick, hired The Jester as a process server. They staged this event to attract Daredevil so he could be served. Matt congratulates her for her initiative. He should have canned her keister. Not only because personal service isn't necessary but because her plan was unnecessarily dangerous. What if the bank guard had started shooting? What if one of the patrons had a heart attack and died?

Matt's law firm could be sued for negligence, that's what. (Still, I suppose Matt could agree to sue himself again, collect his fee, and make some money out of the deal.)

In Daredevil #23, the police let The Jester go. He's made no explicit threats and had no weapons, only toys. What could they charge him with? Assault of a bank guard for one. Better yet, how about the crime he committed: armed bank robbery? Robbery happens when the robber makes explicit threats or implied threats, such as holding up a fake bomb and asking for money in return for deactivating it. Deciding whether it was performance art or a robbery would be up to the jury. The police should still have charged him.

Try this some time. Go to a bank with a toy gun and ask people for money. Don't threaten them, just ask nicely. See if you don't get convicted for robbery. (Actually, unless you're looking to spend the next several years in confined spaces, don't try it.)

Meanwhile, Daredevil hires Kate Vinokur to represent him. Apparently, not even Matt would be so blatantly conflicted as to represent both Daredevil and Griggs. DD hired her because her fee--only $250 an hour--isn't calculated to bleed the client dry, and she has standards. He certainly didn't hire her for her legal acumen. We learn that, when Kate notes DD can't prove he was home in bed when Griggs's greenhouse was trashed. Since he has no alibi, their only recourse is to establish "reasonable doubt."

They really need to get some civil procedure texts in New York. That way, Kate would know that "beyond a reasonable doubt" is the burden of proof only in criminal cases, not civil cases. In a civil case, you only have to prove your case by a preponderance of the evidence -- or by more than 50%. And Kate would also know about the Doctrine of Emergency, which says damage caused by someone who is acting in an emergency situation--like a super-hero fighting evil ninjas--isn't always actionable. This would be a much better defense than alibi, especially when they only had to prove it by a preponderance of the evidence.

Of course, as Kate doesn't know this, who knows how she'll represent Daredevil. We'll find out next time in, "Ethics? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Ethics," or "Suit Yourself."


Daredevil TM & ©2003 is the property of Marvel Characters, Inc. - all rights reserved.
Corner logo graphic is courtesy of Piekos Arts.

The Law is a Ass: "Serving notice on Daredevil" ©2002, 2003 Bob Ingersoll

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