Origin of Phrases - K
Kangaroo Court
Originally, these irregular courts were resorted to in frontier communities, usually for the trial and condemnation of people who had committed offenses against the community. It's believed to have started out sometime around 1849 with the California gold rush. As for the name, historians have said that it may be an allusion to to the way these courts tried "jumpers" who seized the mining claims of others in the community.