friend in court

Idioms  

1. Also, friends in high places. A person or persons who can help by virtue of their important position. For example, With a friend in court, he has a good chance of getting the contract, or Jim thinks he can get out of paying the fine; he has friends in high places. This expression alludes to the power of a person at the royal court. With the decline of monarchies, high places came into more common use. [c. 1400]

---

Example Sentences

The unions may have a friend in court.

From Time Magazine Archive

For one thing, he won for his cause a powerful friend in court: the Justice Department.

From Time Magazine Archive

Yes, it would be worth something to know that they had a friend in court when that time rolled around.

From The Boy Scouts in the Blue Ridge Marooned Among the Moonshiners by Carter, Herbert

Because she may be very useful to us, Ronald; and if you can't find a friend in court, it's just as well to have one near court.

From Bonnie Prince Charlie : a Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden by Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)

We had a friend in court, but she was dumb, and I must give her voice.

From Under the Andes by Stout, Rex