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• magistrate's court
  magistrate's court

  noun

  a court having limited jurisdiction over minor civil and criminal matters, as matters of contract not exceeding a particular amount of money.
• magistrates' court
  magistrates' court

  noun

  (in England) a court of summary jurisdiction held before two or more justices of the peace or a stipendiary magistrate to deal with minor crimes, certain civil actions, and preliminary hearings

magistrate's court

American  

noun

1. a court having limited jurisdiction over minor civil and criminal matters, as matters of contract not exceeding a particular amount of money.

2. police court.

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magistrates' court British  

noun

1. (in England) a court of summary jurisdiction held before two or more justices of the peace or a stipendiary magistrate to deal with minor crimes, certain civil actions, and preliminary hearings

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Etymology

Origin of magistrate's court

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

In Russia, a magistrate’s court typically handles administrative violations and low-level criminal cases.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 17, 2023

The two men appeared in a magistrate's court in the South African city of Bloemfontein.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2023

A magistrate's court in Nairobi found Hassan Wario, who was the sports minister at the time, guilty of abuse of office in connection with the loss of funds.

From Reuters • Sep. 16, 2021

Mathews, the publisher of The Grip and its only reporter, submitted an Open Records Act request to the magistrate’s court, where judges swear in new officers.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 30, 2019

The first stage took place in a magistrate’s court.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela