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.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of magistrate's court

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

They appeared at a magistrate's court in Eswatini on Tuesday.

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2024

He was sentenced to two years in prison by a magistrate’s court but the courts suspended his prison sentence in April.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 4, 2023

Chow Hang-tung, 38, a prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and former vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, was among those convicted by a magistrate's court.

From Reuters • Mar. 11, 2023

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

In the magistrate’s court, Sobukwe announced the PAC would not attempt to defend itself, in accordance with their slogan “No bail, no defense, no fine.”

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela