where did the expression kangaroo court come from
Kangaroo court Although the term kangaroo court has been erroneously explained to have its origin from Australia's courts while it was a penal colony,[6] the first published instance is from an American source in the year 1853.[7] Some sources suggest that it may have been popularized during the California Gold Rush of 1849, along with mustang court,[8] as a description of the hastily carried-out proceedings used to deal with the issue of claim jumping miners.[6] Ostensibly the term comes from the notion of justice proceeding "by leaps", like a kangaroo[9] â€“ in other words, "jumping over" (intentionally ignoring) evidence that would be in favour of the defendant. Another possibility is that the phrase could refer to the pouch of a kangaroo, meaning the court is in someone's pocket. The phrase is popular in the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand and is still in common use.[10] Also note the existence of the phrase "Jumping to conclusions".