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

District court, where Immergut blocked the administration from flooding Portland with Guardsmen from California.

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A federal district court judge in Northern California on Wednesday granted an emergency order to temporarily pause the mass layoffs that occurred throughout the federal government.

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And they understand something that the Supreme Court’s Republican appointees don’t get: Fact-finding is the province of the district court, first and foremost, and higher courts generally have an obligation under the law to defer to those findings unless they were clearly erroneous.

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Here, the panel ruled, the district court was not clearly erroneous when it held that there’s no rebellion, insurrection, or mass chaos on the ground.

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But the panel also said that even if there were more violence in Chicago than the district court found, the protests still wouldn’t necessarily constitute a rebellion.

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