Inherit the Wind

A few days later, the courtroom is packed with people. It is a sweltering day, and Bert Cates’s trial is about to begin. Drummond, Brady, and Davenport select the jury. Davenport accepts a juror on the basis that he attends church on Sundays; Drummond in turn accepts him because he cannot read, and therefore has read neither the Bible nor Darwin. Brady interrupts proceedings to ask the Judge if he will permit everyone in the courthouse to remove their coats on account of the heat. The Judge agrees, and Drummond gets a laugh from the audience for his bright purple suspenders. Brady teases him; Drummond rejoins that he bought the suspenders from Brady’s hometown. 

Another man is called forward for juror selection. The man, Dunlap, states that he believes in the Bible and in Matthew Brady. Davenport wants to accept him onto the jury, but Drummond objects because of the man’s obvious bias. The Judge reluctantly excuses Dunlap, but he agrees with “Colonel Brady” that Drummond seems to disrespect the court. Drummond objects to Brady being called a colonel, as he believes that it “prejudices the case of [his client, Bert]” by making Brady out to be a force of righteousness (64).