As the Supreme Court of the United States begins its new term, today we turn our attention to a different sort of court: the kangaroo court.

The term kangaroo court has three distinct senses:
it can refer to a mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted;
it can name a court characterized by irresponsible, unauthorized, or irregular status or procedures; and
it can be a byword for judgment or punishment given outside of legal procedure.

Except for the fact that kangaroo court has no legal link to marsupials, little else is certain about the term's origin. What is known is that the first recorded mention of kangaroo court dates back to the Gold Rush era that began in 1849. It first appeared in print in 1853 in a book about Texas.

That doesn't mean folks haven't dreamed up plenty of scenarios to explain kangaroo court. One theory has it that kangaroo courts got their name because they were initially marked by rapid and unpredictable movement from one place to another. Another proposes they were in some way associated with Australian miners or with "jumping"—that is, illegally occupying—mining claims. But neither of these explanations has yet to be substantiated, much less proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

And yet another theory is that that is the way a lynching victim bounced around at the end of a rope- just like a kangaroo.