district court

noun

U.S. Law.

1. (in many states) the court of general jurisdiction.

2. the federal trial court sitting in each district of the United States.

district court

noun

1. (in Scotland) a court of summary jurisdiction held by a stipendiary magistrate or one or more justices of the peace to deal with minor criminal offences

2. 1. a federal trial court serving a federal judicial district

   2. (in some states) a court having general jurisdiction in a state judicial district

3. Former name: magistrates' court. (in Australia and New Zealand) a court lower than a high court

Word History and Origins

Origin of district court¹

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90

Example Sentences

Kavanaugh has done this before; for instance, he notoriously signed onto a Clarence Thomas dissent in the census citizenship case that accused the district court judge, Jesse Furman, of being a kind of crazy-eyed conspiracy theorist who puts pins on a board and connects them with string.

From Slate

District Court Judge David O. Carter, was stayed after the VA appealed the judgment.

From Los Angeles Times

District Court in Los Angeles, claims the AI company Midjourney generates images that “blatantly incorporate and copy” the movie studios’ famous characters.

From Los Angeles Times

On Tuesday, 250 years after that ride, Judge Charles Breyer of the Federal District Court in San Francisco raised a similar ruckus without ever leaving the bench.

From Salon

District Court Judge Amit Mehta for the District of Columbia gave his answers in a highly watched decision that spared the online behemoth from selling its Chrome browser but placed other limits on the search giant.

From Los Angeles Times