How we cite our quotes: (Act, Scene, Line)
Quote #7
DRUMMOND. (Sighing) Someday I'm going to get me an easy case. An open-and-shut case. I've got a friend up in Chicago. Big lawyer. Lord how the money rolls in! You know why? He never takes a case unless it's a sure thing. Like a jockey who won't go in a race unless he can ride the favorite. (III, 59-64)
Here, Drummond lets us know that he'd rather lose a good fight than win a boring one. This little insight is important to how we understand his character. Though he's not a superficial attention-seeker like Brady, he does have something in common with his enemy; this trial isn't just business for him. It's personal. He chooses the cases he's interested in carefully, and only gets involved in those cases.
Quote #8
MELINDA. (Calling to HOWARD across the courtroom) Which side won?
HOWARD. (Calling back) I ain't sure. But the whole thing's over! (III, 342-47)
The fact that these kids can't even tell who won the case lets us know that it was the drama, way more than the outcome, that had everybody in town interested in Bert's trial. The court case was entertainment for them, and the townspeople were like the audience of a play. Do they even believe that the outcome will affect them? Probably not. They're just in it for the popcorn and Twizzlers. This circus-like dynamic of the trial reveals to us the playwrights' desire to highlight the injustice of the justice system; clearly, they think the courtroom is more a stage for grandstanding lawyers than a place where truth and honesty take center stage.
Quote #9
CATES. I'm not sure. Did I win or did I lose?
DRUMMOND. You won.
CATES. But the jury found me—
DRUMMOND. What jury? Twelve men? Millions of people will say you won. They'll read in their papers tonight that you smashed a bad law. You made it a joke! (512-21)
Here, the arena gets a lot bigger than just little old Hillsboro's courtroom. Bert might have lost his case in the tiny town of Hillsboro, but the huge radio audience will declare him a winner, according to his lawyer. (Besides, dude only got sentenced to a one hundred dollar fine; that was just a slap on the wrist, and everybody knows it.)