judge taylor's management of the courtroom.

While he seems unbiased in court, his opinions on the Robinson case manifest themselves in more subtle ways. He’s the one who appoints Atticus as Tom’s defense council even when the job should have gone to another, less experienced, man. Despite this attempt to influence the outcome of the case, Judge Taylor is ultimately powerless to prevent the jury from finding Tom guilty on circumstantial evidence. Like Atticus, he works within the system, but it seems that ultimately he can’t overcome the ways in which the system itself is broken.