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night court

American  

noun

  1. a criminal court that convenes at night for the quick disposition of charges and the granting of bail.


Etymology

Origin of night court

First recorded in 1930–35

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.

Mystery still shrouds Zhang’s escape in July, following a late night court hearing in Mexico City when a judge unexpectedly granted him house arrest.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025

In a Thursday night court filing, lawyers for Holmes asked that she receive 18 months in home confinement, followed by community service, at her Nov. 18 sentencing before U.S.

From Reuters • Nov. 11, 2022

He “hung out around grimy boxing rings and gangsterish social clubs and the city night court; he observed inveterate gamblers and exhausted dance marathoners and denizens of the racetrack.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2021

By mid-October, they had devised a plan to carry out extensive monitoring that kept eyes on the air conditioning repairman day and night, court records show.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 20, 2020

They then hauled him into night court while the rest of us followed, frightened and angry.

From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride