Kangaroo-court definition

A mock court, especially one hastily improvised or irregularly conducted.

noun

A court characterized by dishonesty or incompetence.

noun

An unauthorized, irregular court, usually disregarding normal legal procedure, as one in a frontier region.

noun

Any tribunal in which judgment is rendered arbitrarily or unfairly.

noun

Pejorative. Of an unfair court, in which justice cannot be obtained.

noun

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

noun

Other Word Forms

Singular:

kangaroo-court

Plural:

kangaroo-courts

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

From Wiktionary