around her throat? At the back of her neck?"
    I'd say they were all around, Mr. Finch."

With that, Atticus ceased his questioning of Heck Tate. He had discovered that no doctor was called (so rape could not be varified); that she was bruised under her right eye; and that there were finger marks around her neck. Atticus would later insist that Tom Robinson could not have caused the bruising, since his left arm was disabled from a farm accident. 

The trial of Tom Robinson is one of the most significant moments in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In fact, nearly everything in the novel leads to this moment, and Heck Tate is the first witness in the trial. 

Mr. Gilmer, the prosecutor, is the first to ask the sheriff about what he knows about the accusations of rape against Tom Robinson. Tate answers the questions he is asked, and here is what we learn from him after Gilmer's questioning:

• Bob Ewell came to get Tate one night, accusing Tom Robinson of raping his daughter, Mayella.
• He was concerned, of course, and drove to the Ewells' house as quickly as he could.
• When he arrived, Mayella was lying on the floor in the middle of the room.
• When Mayella saw him, she got up, went to the corner, and washed her face in the bucket of water.
• Mayella claims she is fine, but when Tate asked who hurt her, she said it was Tom Robinson.
• She admitted that it was Tom Robinson who "took advantage of" her.
• Tate brought Tom to the house and Mayella identified him as her attacker.

That's the information Heck Tate gives when he is questioned by the prosecutor; then it is Atticus's turn to question the sheriff. This is when things get interesting.

Atticus asks if Tate--or anyone else--called a doctor to examine Mayella. No. He is surprised that, as beaten up as Mayella appeared, no one called a doctor, but all Tate adds is that it did not seem necessary.

Then Atticus asks Tate to describe the girl's injuries, and we learn that she had a black eye. After a slightly confusing discussion, Tate establishes that it was Mayella's right eye which was "bunged up." This is an interesting revelation, and the sheriff offers even more information about the injuries he saw on the girl.

He described them this way:

“…her arms were bruised, and she showed me her neck. There were definite finger marks on her gullet—”
“All around her throat? At the back of her neck?”
“I’d say they were all around, Mr. Finch.”

Though this is something Atticus did not expect to hear, he knows Heck Tate is telling the truth and he knows this is a good addition to the case he is about to make.

Though it does not seem like much, in this cross examination Atticus was able to establish three important things. First, Mayella was bruised on the outside, but she was apparently not damaged in ways one would expect a rape victim to be; if she had been, someone would have made sure that she saw a doctor. Second, it was Mayella's right eye that had been damaged, which means that the person who hit her there had to have been left-handed. Third, someone put both his hands around Mayella's neck and apparently tried to strangle her. 

All three of these facts will become much more significant as the trial continues. 

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Tom Robinson’s trial begins with the first witness. Heck Tate, Maycomb’s sheriff, is the first to testify for the prosecution.

When the supposed rape takes place, it is Mr. Tate’s job to go to Tom Robinson’s house and arrest him despite the lack of evidence other than the hearsay testimony of the Ewells.

Leading up to the trial, Tom is brought to the Maycomb jail the night before.  Tate warns Atticus that there may be trouble or a lynch mob coming to the jail.  Tate makes himself scarce because he is afraid.  The only one left to defend Tom is Atticus.  The children also take a part in saving Tom from hanging. Mr. Tate shows himself to be a coward in this situation.

On the stand, Mr. Tate has dressed up for the occasion.

His testimony includes this information:

• The event happened on the night of November 21.
• Mr. Ewell comes to the sheriff’s office and claims that the Negro raped Mayella, his daughter.
• Mr. Tate goes to the Ewell home.
• Mayella says that Tom Robinson raped her.
• Tate brought Tom to the Ewell house where Mayella identified him as her assailant. 

Two important bits of information come from his testimony.

First, no one sent for the doctor for Mayella despite her many injuries.  No one examined her for the age of the bruises, if she had been raped, or the seriousness of her injuries.

“Did you call a doctor, Sheriff? Did anybody call a doctor?” asked Atticus.
“No sir,” said Mr. Tate.
“Why not?”  There was an edge in Atticus’ voice.
“Well I can tell you why I didn’t. It wasn’t necessary, Mr. Finch. She was mighty banged up. Something sho’happened, it was obvious.”
“But you didn’t send for a doctor?” asked Atticus.

Secondly, Mr. Tate figures out that Mayella was injured on her right side.  She has a black eye on that side, Most of her other injuries were there as well. Later in the trial, it will be determined that Tom Robinson could not have given Mayella the injuries that she received. Tom disability prevents him from using his right hand; therefore, he could not have caused Mayella’s injuries.

These points will be used later by Atticus to prove that there was no way that Tom Robinson could have committed the crime.

Sheriff Heck Tate sits forward intently in the witness chair with his hands touching each other between his knees as he listens very carefully. Clearly, he is determined to perform well as a witness.

As he looks down to avoid distraction, Sheriff Tate is questioned by Mr. Gilmer, the prosecutor. Tate testifies that Mr. Ewell came in to his office on the night of November twenty-first and demanded that the sheriff get out to his house quickly. When he did so, Tate found Mayella Ewell lying on the floor, displaying signs of having received a strong beating. The sheriff lifted her to her feet, whereupon she washed her face in a bucket, and then seemed to be all right. Tate asked her who had hurt her, and Mayella replied that Tom Robinson had done these things to her. He then asked Mayella if Tom had taken advantage of her, and she affirmed that he had. So, the sheriff "took him in." That is, he arrested Tom.

When Atticus is allowed to cross-examine, he asks the sheriff if he called a doctor. Tate replies that he did not. Atticus asks him why no doctor was summoned, and Mr. Tate replies that he did not think calling a doctor was necessary. He adds that Mayella was simply bruised and had a black eye; it was her right eye. Suddenly, however, he seems to realize something, and he turns and looks around at Tom Robinson. Atticus asks the sheriff to repeat what he just said. "It was her right eye, I said," Sheriff Tate repeats. Those sitting in the balcony section whisper among themselves after this statement.

This last statement causes Jem to smile and say something about "corroborating evidence." The fact that Mayella was struck brutally in the right eye is the kind of evidence that Atticus needs in order to discredit Bob and Mayella Ewell and prove Tom Robinson innocent. A bruised right eye would suggest that Mayella was beaten by someone left handed—but Tom's left arm, injured when he was a child, is essentially useless to him.

Responding to Mr. Gilmer's questions, Heck recounts what happened the night Mayella was attacked. He said Bob Ewell called him, saying someone raped his girl. Heck goes to the Ewell house, finds Mayella beat up on the floor, and helps her to wash her face. He then asks her who beat her up and she said it was Tom Robinson. 

Then, Atticus asks Heck if he called a doctor. Heck says no one called a doctor. Then Atticus asks Heck to describe Mayella's injuries. Heck says Mayella was hurt on the left side of her face. Then Atticus asks if it was her left or his left. Heck corrects himself and is then positive that it was the right side of Mayella's face that was banged up. Heck also says there were bruises on her arms and finger marks on her throat. 

This was key evidence. Questioning Bob Ewell, Atticus shows the court that Bob is left-handed (by asking him to write his name). In Chapter 18, after questioning Mayella, Atticus asks Tom to stand up, revealing to the court Tom's mangled left hand. A left-handed man is much more likely to inflict damage to the right side of his victim's face. Atticus was making the case that Bob Ewell is more likely to have beaten Mayella than Tom because Bob was left-handed and Tom's left arm was a foot shorter than his right arm. 

In Chapter 17, Sheriff Heck Tate testifies in court during Tom Robinson's trial; he answers to both the Ewells' lawyer and Atticus, and there is a good deal of back-and-forth and clarifying and repeating of questions, but the main points of his testimony are:

• He was called to the Ewells' home on the night of September 21; once there, Bob Ewell said his daughter had been raped.
• Mayella was "lying on the floor in the middle of the front room...pretty well beat up."
• He asked her who had done this to her, and she said it was Tom Robinson.
• He didn't call a doctor, because "Something sho' happened, it was pretty obvious," and there was therefore no need to verify that she was hurt.
• It had happened thirty minutes before he got there.

The most important part of Heck's testimony is the information he had about Mayella's bruises. He says that:

• Her right eye was bruised
• There were bruises all the way around her neck, as though someone had tried to strangle her with their hands

This last bit is very important, because we learn in the next chapter that Tom Robinson's left arm is useless—it was harmed in a farming accident years ago, and he has been crippled ever since. So he could not have been able to beat Mayella on the right side of her face, nor could he have wrapped two hands around her neck.

Atticus gets Sheriff Tate to admit that no one called a doctor for Mayella and that the injuries were on the right side of her face.

Heck Tate is the first witness the Finch children see testify in the Tom Robinson case.  He is the sheriff of Maycomb county.  He testifies because he was called to the scene when Mayella Ewell was reported raped.  Mr. Gilmer, the prosecutor, has him review the scene.  He was called by Bob Ewell, and found Mayella Ewella injured in the middle of the floor of her house. 

Atticus, Tom Robinson’s defense attorney, cross-examines Heck Tate to ask him about Mayella’s injuries.  The first question he asks him is about the doctor.  If a girl is raped, you would expect a doctor to be called.  None has been mentioned, so Atticus asks.

Didn’t call a doctor?”

“No sir,” repeated Mr. Tate.

“Why not?” There was an edge to Atticus’s voice.

“Well I can tell you why I didn’t. It wasn’t necessary, Mr. Finch. She was mighty banged up. Something sho‘ happened, it was obvious.” (Ch. 17)

Judge Taylor intervenes, telling Atticus to stop asking the question because Sheriff Tate has answered it three times.  No one called for a doctor.  It is pretty strange.  Atticus made sure the jury realized it.  If Mayella was really raped, a doctor should have been called for her.

Atticus also makes a big deal about the side of her face on which Mayella’s injuries are located.

“Wait a minute, Sheriff,” said Atticus. “Was it her left facing you or her left looking the same way you were?”

Mr. Tate said, “Oh yes, that’d make it her right. It was her right eye, Mr. Finch. I remember now, she was bunged up on that side of her face…” (Ch. 17)

Tom Robinson reacts to Atticus harping on the side of Mayella’s face where the injuries are located.  This will be important later, because Atticus will try to use it to prove that Tom Robinson did not hit Mayella, because his left arm is useless, and that no rape occurred, because no one went for a doctor.