kangaroo court

     

A kangaroo court or kangaroo trial, sometimes likene to a drumhead court-martial or Drumhead trial, is a sham legal proceeding or court. Kangaroo courts are judicial proceedings that deny due process in the name of expediency. Such rights include the right to summon witnesses, the right of cross-examination, the right not to incriminate oneself, the right not to be tried on secret evidence, the right to control one's own defense, the right to exclude evidence that is improperly obtained, irrelevant or inherently inadmissable (e.g. hearsay), the right to exclude judges or jurors on the grounds of partiality or conflict of interest, and the right of appeal. The outcome of a trial by "kangaroo court" is essentially determined in advance, usually for the purpose of providing a conviction, either by going through the motions of manipulated procedure or by allowing no defense at all.

Trivia about kangaroo court

  • This term for a crude or unfair tribunal was first recorded in mid-19th C. America, not in Australia
  • Marsupial term for a self-appointed tribunal that parodies existing principles of law
  • It's any crudely operated tribunal that makes a fair trial impossible

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