The collection includes both the personal and professional papers of Judge Taylor. A number of documents related to Judge Taylor’s family history and their role in Tennessee history are included among the Papers, as are documents detailing Judge Taylor’s professional life are also found among the papers.

The personal correspondence contained in the collection consists primarily of letters sent to Judge Taylor’s family history. His professional correspondence consists primarily of outgoing letters on administrative matters. Correspondence of a personal nature from notable individuals such as Justice Warren Burger, Potter Stewart and William O. Douglas, Senators Albert Gore, Sr., Estes Kefauver and Kenneth McKellar and Governor Gordon Browning are located among the Personal Correspondence files. Letters from these individuals concerning professional or official matters are contained within the Professional Correspondence files.

Among Judge Taylor’s professional papers are copies of speeches delivered in the mid-1950’s by Department of Justice officials, including Attorney General Herbert Brownell, Jr., on a variety of subjects such as Communism, anti-trust matters, international law, and the federal prison system. Also included in the collection are contents of the notebooks from the 1973, 1974, and 1975 Judicial Conferences of the United States. Judge Taylor’s own speeches on a variety of professional and civic topics, along with his joke file and collection of quotes, poetry and anecdotes, are among the Papers.

Major portions of the Collection are related to lawsuits over which Judge Taylor presided. Transcripts of the contempt of court litigation arising out of the desegregation of the Clinton, Tennessee schools are among the Papers, as are a large number of letters to Judge Taylor protesting his actions in this case. Other major portions of the collection consist of materials related to the prosecutions of Illinois Governor Otto Kerner, Jr. and Maryland Governor Marvin Mandel. Extensive pre-trial, trial, post-trial and appellate materials are included in the collection. Of particular note are the reflective notes of Judge Taylor and his law clerks regarding these cases. Materials related to the Tellico Dam lawsuit are not included in the collection.

Series 1: Personal Records and Materials contains family history, other related history, personal correspondence, and personal achievements and affiliations. Amongst the personal affiliations includes materials from Milligan College, Vanderbilt University, and Yale University. This series also includes the many speeches given by and collected by Judge Taylor, including graduation speeches, conference speeches, and speeches addressed to the Bar Association. Series 2: Judicial Materialsincludes materials related to the courtroom. It contains procedures that are to be followed as well as seminar and conference materials. The series also includes trial memorandum and addresses at conferences.

Series 3: Trial Materials includes materials from a few of Judge Taylor’s cases. The materials include pre-trial, trial, and post-trial materials and many transcripts from trials. The series includes materials from the Clinton School Desegregation trial, US v Isaacs, US v. Mandel, among others.