magistrate's court
noun
a court having limited jurisdiction over minor civil and criminal matters, as matters of contract not exceeding a particular amount of money.
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magistrate's court
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magistrates' court
magistrates' courtnoun(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
magistrate's court
Americannoun
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a court having limited jurisdiction over minor civil and criminal matters, as matters of contract not exceeding a particular amount of money.
magistrates' court
British
noun
Etymology
Origin of magistrate's court
First recorded in 1865–70
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Ratna Singh, the CJP's head lawyer, said in a social media post that Dipke and the others had been released by an executive magistrate's court.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
Melkisedek Kaijage, who works at the University of Dodoma, had appeared at a magistrate's court to request bail after spending 15 days in police custody when the charges were changed.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Erias Lukwago appeared before a magistrate's court in the capital Kampala looking visibly weak, local media reported, days after he was arrested at his home.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
The defense had earlier disputed whether the magistrate's court had extraterritorial jurisdiction over the posts she published aboard, but they abandoned the dispute as she didn't remove the content.
From Reuters ● Nov. 3, 2023
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
The Cheshire-based firm was fined £240,000 at a magistrates' court hearing in 2024 over the HSE's findings, before facing High Court proceedings brought by Pugh, from Bangor, Gwynedd.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
As Sheeran's case was dealt with under the Single Justice Procedure system, it could be sent to any magistrates' court regardless of the location of the offence, based on a national database.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
The firm now faces being fined when sentenced at the magistrates' court on 2 June.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
A prosecution lawyer had outlined some detail about the allegations against Mr Spencer at an earlier magistrates' court hearing.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2025
When I came away from the magistrates' court, after hearing the men sentenced, I found my mind full of that crew's grievance.
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
