Star-chamber

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Star chamber \Star" cham`ber\, Star-chamber
  \Star"-cham`ber\(st[aum]r"ch[=a]m`b[~e]r), n. [So called (as
     conjectured by Blackstone) from being held in a room at the
     Exchequer where the chests containing certain Jewish
     contracts and obligations called starrs (from the Heb.
     shetar, pron. shtar) were kept; or from the stars with which


     the ceiling is supposed to have been decorated.]
     1. (Eng. Hist.) An ancient high court exercising jurisdiction
        in certain cases, mainly criminal, which sat without the
        intervention of a jury. It consisted of the king's
        council, or of the privy council only with the addition of
        certain judges. It could proceed on mere rumor or examine
        witnesses; it could apply torture. It was abolished by the
        Long Parliament in 1641. --Encyc. Brit.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Hence: (Metaphorical) Any court, committee, or other
        tribunal which exercises arbitrary and unaccountable
        power, or uses unfair or illegal methods, in investigation
        or judgment of persons.
        [PJC]