court of domestic relations

American  

noun

Law.

1. a court, usually with a limited jurisdiction, that handles legal cases involving a family, especially controversies between parent and child or between the marriage partners.

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Etymology

Origin of court of domestic relations

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

He was a one-man chamber of commerce and court of domestic relations.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Christmas basket, the $10 loan, the stay of eviction, the city job�all bought him votes, but also made his headquarters a "school, employment agency, court of domestic relations and poor man's 'psychiatric couch.'"

From Time Magazine Archive

Court of Domestic Relations.—One of the most significant improvements that has taken place is the establishment of a court of domestic relations, which already exists in several cities, and has made an enviable record.

From Society Its Origin and Development by Rowe, Henry Kalloch

The report of a court of domestic relations gives such an analysis of over 1,500 cases, listing 25 causes, and carefully calculating the percentage of cases due to each.

From Broken Homes A Study of Family Desertion and its Social Treatment by Colcord, Joanna C.

He was young and distinguished-looking, which probably accounted for the fact that his office had become a sort of fashionable court of domestic relations.

From The Treasure-Train by Reeve, Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin)