In the end of the short story "The Old Chief Mshlanga", the girl's father decides to keep the twenty goats that trampled down his land. This decision deeply affected Chief Mshlanga's people, since these goats belonged to them, and not having them would mean that they would go hungry when the dry season begins. Thus, it was selfish from him to keep the goats.
In this quote, Scout wants to highlight how difficult it was for a black man to get access to justice at the time. She tells us that Tom Robinson had been given "due process of law." This implies that Tom Robinson was treated fairly in the eyes of the law because he had had a lawyer and a trial.
However, Scout also highlights the fact that, besides these advantages, Robinson's trial was definitely not fair and just. In fact, he was harshly judged because of his skin colour, which many people took to be almost evidence of Robinson's guilt. Therefore, as Scout highlights, Tom had "lost" in front of his peers, and he was never able to gain support from people who were against him from the beginning. Tom had lost the case in the "secret court of men's heart."
SHAKESPEAR. He also wrote Othello
