histrionics and shouting.  In this bit of text we see (or, rather, hear) clearly the extent to which things are out of control.  Martha's words are twisted out of context, she is presumed to be guilty, everyone is shouting at once: it is total bedlam in that courtroom.  Allowing us toonly hear and not see forces us to pay closer attention, to listen harder, to be more affected by the hysteria that runs the courtroom because it is something different.  We are not used to going to a stage production and only being able to hear what's happening, and so by employing an unusual strategy, Miller shows us rather than tells us the extent to which hysteria now rules.

The discussions at the beginning of Act III show the bias of the court. 

Martha Corey has been accused of reading material that would suggest she is a witch. (She is simply an avid reader.) This occurs at the beginning of Act III. She is being questioned by Hathorne and Danforth. Martha answers honestly and logically but Hathorne claims the court has evidence against her. When Giles screams that he has evidence that the accusations are false, he is removed from the court. Giles believes that Putnam's quest for land is his motive for adding to the accusations. This scene is significant because it shows the court's biased opinion. The court has heard evidence against Martha but will not hear Giles evidence that will condemn Putnam and the accusations against his wife. 

The conversation continues. Francis Nurse accuses the girls of being frauds. Instead of hearing her evidence/argument, Hathorne claims it is contempt. When Proctor adds that Mary Warren has signed a deposition claiming the girls were lying, Danforth says he will not accept depositions. Danforth adds, "Do you know, Mr. Proctor, that the entire contention of the state in these trials is that the voice of Heaven is speaking through the children?" Again, this shows how biased Danforth and Hathorne are. They have made their minds up, much to the dismay of the evidence from Giles, Proctor, and others. 

This scene opens Act III. In the stage directions, the author tells us that we are looking at an empty space, but hearing the voices from the court room. Martha Corey is being questioned by Danforth and Hathorne, and Giles interrupts the proceedings to offer evidence for the court. Angered by the disruption, the judges bring Giles into the space the audience has been observing, where the rest of the Act takes place. By starting the scene this way, Miller is able to accomplish a few things. We are able to develop opinions of Danforth and Hathorne before they are ever seen on stage. Their tones and words introduce the characters rather than their appearances. Miller is able to create suspense. Since we can't see the actions of the girls or see facial expressions, there are many details we must infer. Finally, and more practically, it enables the Miller to show the courtroom events without having to create two stage settings, thus allowing everything to take place in one Act, without interrupting the action.

This background sequence, which can be found at the beginning of act three, relays important information about the Corey family.  We learn more information about Martha's arrest, and that Giles is very upset about it.  He comes in, figurative guns blazing, ready to take down the courts to save his wife. And indeed, when Giles walks in, they are in the middle of accusing her of reading fortunes, a charge unrelated to the pig one upon which she was arrested, so who knows what else they are going to bring up.

This conversation is also significant because it reveals the hard-hearted nature of the courts, and their willingness to arrest anyone who causes a disturbance of any kind.  As soon as Giles breaks in, Hathorne demands, "Arrest him your excellency," and all chaos erupts.  The courts don't even pause before deciding that he must be arrested.  He shouts out some pretty significant charges, that "Thomas Putnam is killing his neighbors for their land," and they immediately turn on Giles, not Thomas.  This shows that the courts are predisposed to favor anyone who supports their already-made arrests, and to automatically discredit anyone who is trying to prove truth.  It reveals the snap judgments and prejudiced nature of the judges themselves.

I hope that those thoughts helped a bit; good luck!

The opening discussion of the Third Act helps to bring to light how there is a belief in the pursuit of legal channels to redress the wrong going on in Salem.  Francis Nurse has approached the court in respectful manner, one that believes in the idea of legal redressing of wrongs. The fact that he approaches the court with a petition of signatures also reflects this.  Corey busts into the court demanding to be heard because he "has evidence."  Both believe that the courts are their last sanctuary.  This is the opening of the Third Act in that the individuals are pursuing the legal end in order their own conception of justice.  The significance is how people like Nurse and Corey really believe in the legal system to help them.  Nurse's petition and Corey's deposition are the last ditch attempts to find justice.  As they find out along with Proctor, the court is the sanctuary to injustice, and one by one, they find this revelation out in brutal fashion.  The opening discussion reflects the last shred of hope for those who are innocent, and throughout the scene, it becomes evident that those in the position of power are using the court system to consolidate their own power and deny the pursuit of justice.