Assess the conduct of the judge in this trial. Is he biased? Are his rulings legally sound?

The conduct of the judge is biased. In this battle of ideals and systems of belief between Brady and Drummond, pragmatic forces are responsible for the resolution of the trial. While the jury's unanimous guilty verdict demonstrates the people of Hillsboro to remain ignorant and unthinking, the judge's sentence ­ a mere hundred dollar fine, rather than the years in prison which Cates had been fearing and for which Brady had been hoping ­ is the most significant in the way the world will interpret the trial. The judge does not impart this sentence out of a newfound support of Cates but rather for political reasons. The mayor has warned him about the wire from the state. In the end, the judge is more concerned about reelection worries and state-wide perception of him than he is of upholding the citizens' of Hillsboro opposition to evolution.