kangaroo court

[Mike Calvert]

Does anybody have any info on the origin of the term "kangaroo court"?
The only thing I've been able to find in the desk and online
dictionaries at hand is from Webster's New World Collegiate, which says
a kangaroo court is so called "because justice proceeds by leaps and
bounds." This may be correct, but it's not very satisfying, so I thought
I'd poll the group.
Thanks,
Michael Calvert