kangaroo court

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Wikipedia

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Noun 1.2.1 Quotations 1.3 See also

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

First attested 1853 in a Texas context, possibly from the notion of proceeding by leaps or because the kangaroo's appearance defies nature.

[edit] Noun

kangaroo court (plural kangaroo courts)

1. (idiomatic) A judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding, or a group which conducts such proceedings, which is without proper authority, abusive, or otherwise unjust.

[edit] Quotations

					1856	1933	2003
ME: [[{{{enm}}}]] «	15th c.	16th c.	17th c.	18th c.	19th c.	20th c.	21st c.

• 1856, Alfred W. Arrington, The Rangers and Regulators of the Tanaha, or, Life Among the Lawless: A tale of the republic of Texas., R.M. DeWitt (New York), p. 247,

  Sol Tuttle interposed, "Don't you let nobody hev any witnesses in this kangaroo court?"

• 1933, "The New Pictures: M by Fritz Lang," Time, 10 Apr.,

  They take him off to face their kangaroo court in the cellar of a deserted brewery.

• 2003, David Glazier, "Kangaroo Court or Competent Tribunal?: Judging the 21st Century Military Commission," Virginia Law Review, vol. 89, no. 8, p. 2093,

  A military commission trial falling short of the full UCMJ standard is all but certain to be pejoratively judged as a "kangaroo court" in the court of public opinion.

[edit] See also

• lynching
• show trial