kangaroo court
Mob-run trial
A kangaroo court is a proceeding that ignores principles of law or justice—one where the verdict is predetermined and due process is a sham.
The term often describes unofficial tribunals, mob justice, or biased institutional hearings: The disciplinary board was a kangaroo court.
It can also criticize legitimate courts perceived as unfair: They called the trial a kangaroo court.
Fraudulent imitation
- farceAbsurd, laughable situation
- railroadingForcing acceptance unfairly
- biasedUnfairly favoring one side
- unfairUnjust or partial
arbitrary · prejudice · scapegoating · rigged · predetermined · mockery · travesty · parody
Created without prior planning
- unauthorizedNot officially permitted
- illegitimateNot authorized or recognized
- ad hocFor this purpose specifically
- unsanctionedNot officially permitted
makeshift · self-appointed · mob rule · frontier justice · prison yard · workplace · schoolyard · peer pressure
sham
Fraudulent imitation
- farceAbsurd, laughable situation
- railroadingForcing acceptance unfairly
- biasedUnfairly favoring one side
unfair · arbitrary · prejudice · scapegoating · rigged · predetermined · mockery · travesty · parody · corruption
improvised
Created without prior planning
- unauthorizedNot officially permitted
- illegitimateNot authorized or recognized
- ad hocFor this purpose specifically
unsanctioned · makeshift · self-appointed · mob rule · frontier justice · prison yard · workplace · schoolyard · peer pressure · public shaming
- false accusationsfalse accusation, false charge, false claim, wrongful accusation, bum rap
- legal fictionlegal drama, courtroom drama, crime fiction, detective stories, To Kill a Mockingbird
- oppressionoppression, tyranny, racism, repression, secret police
- political crimestreason, sedition, insurrection, coup d'etat, political corruption
- vigilantismvigilante, vigilantism, lynch mob, lynching, mob justice
- Tribunalsinternational tribunal, military tribunal, war crimes tribunal, criminal tribunal, war tribunal
kangaroo courtcourt of law
Judicial body for disputes
fair trial · due process · constitutional court · court of justice · supreme court
court, courts, courtship, kangaroo, courting, courthouse, courtly, kangaroos, courted