In the Cass County Circuit Court case of People v. Armstrong, Lincoln defends William Duff Armstrong. Armstrong, whose family had ties to Lincoln from his New Salem days, is on trial for the murder of James Metzker. A jury finds Armstrong not guilty. Lincoln employs several strategies to gain an acquittal for Armstrong, including the use of an almanac to discredit a key prosecution witness, who testifies he had seen the fight by the light of the moon high in the sky. Circuit Court Transcript, 15 April 1858, People v. Armstrong, case file; Order, 7 May 1858, People v. Armstrong, Circuit Court Record C, 174, both in Cass County Circuit Court, Cass County Courthouse, Virginia, IL; William E. Barton, The Life of Abraham Lincoln, 2 vols., (Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill, 1925), 1:310-318.