mustang court; kangaroo court

[Stephen Goranson]

ads-l archives has 1839 for "kangaroo court."

Literary World July 20, 1850, p. 46-48 has a long description of a supposed
"Mustang Court" or "Mestang Court" in Texas also known as a "Kangaroo Court."
 Also a city of Kangaroo and Kangaroo county. It's on Google Books full text, so
I won't copy at length.

Mustang Court goes back in Texas (Republic, Senate) at least to Dec. 29 1839.
E.g., snippet-wise:

Journals of the Fourth Congress of the Republic of Texas, 1839-1840: To ...? -
Page 162
by Texas Congress, Texas (Republic). Congress, Harriet Smither, Texas Library
and Historical Commission, Texas State Library, Texas, Texas (Republic)
- Texas
- 1839... 1839 ... Court ? or "Mustang Court," as ...

This text is fully available at UMichigan library Hathi Trust and in America's
Historical Newspapers, Paper: Austin City Gazette;  Date: 03-25-1840;
Page: 1;
Location: Austin, Texas

There, col. 2,:
Mr. Jones, of Brazoria replied....an act creating the celebrated Auditorial
Court [sic, in this reprint; should be Auditoriat Court? as in general
auditoriat?]--or "Mustang Court," as it had been very properly called....

Stephen Goranson
http://www.duke.edu/~goranson/DURA-EUROPOS.pdf
http://www.duke.edu/~goranson/Essenes & Others.pdf

A recent newspaper column on "kangaroo court":
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090207/NEWS/902070309

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