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trial court

trial court

9 3.7
A court where a case is first heard and the facts are decided
  • noun
  • /ˈtraɪəl kɔrt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : tribunal de primera instancia
  • The trial court decided the case after hearing testimony from several witnesses.
  • trial court decision
  • trial court ruling
  • trial court judges

Thousands of trial courts have made serious legal mistakes.

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Examples

  • On review, the Ninth Circuit followed suit and upheld the trial court's dismissal.

    Academic text (2017)
  • On rehearing, the full court of appeals affirmed the trial court's decision that the statute was unconstitutional.

    Academic text (1997)
  • So this is what we call direct appeal directly from the trial court up through the state Supreme Court.

  • I think I'll let the trial court sort that one out.

  • Thousands of trial courts have made serious legal mistakes.

  • The plan called for the creation of a single trial court level with general jurisdiction.

    Academic text (2001)
  • The church has already filed an appeal, but the trial court ruling is generally upheld in these matters.

  • The trial court instructed the jury under the newly articulated Miller standard, and the jury convicted.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected both arguments in affirming a trial court's decision for the school district.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Many of the persuasive principles used in appeals to trial court judges work in appellate courts as well.

    Academic text (2002)

Synonyms

court
vstrial court
  • Formal
1.4

A place where a judge hears and decides legal cases

is specifically for first hearings that determine facts not for appeals
court of law
vstrial court
76 3.2

A place where a judge hears and decides cases about the law

is used for the first hearing where facts are determined, not appeals
law court
vstrial court
2 3.1

A place where a judge hears cases and gives decisions

is mainly for initial hearings that decide facts rather than later appeals

Antonyms

appellate court
  • Specialized
21 7.4

A court that reviews and can change decisions of lower courts

How Formal

trial court
  • Specialized
9 3.7
administrative hearing
  • Formal
2 6.9
hearing
  • Formal
3.6
nonconference
  • Informal
7.2

Surface Forms

trial court singular
trial courts plural

Morphology

trial + court

The meaning of 'trial court' is directly composed from 'trial' (a court procedure to determine facts) and 'court' (a forum for judges), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a court where trials are held. This compound follows a common noun+noun English pattern and has clear parallels in other languages, making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Trial court comes from the simple idea of a trial as a test of the facts and a court as the place where judges meet. It is the place where people 'test' the evidence and 'hear a case' first, so trial court means the court that decides what happened before any appeal.