Kangaroo Court/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: A sham proceeding headed by a Hanging Judge.

  • Straight: Judge Alex decides that Betty is guilty of murder, without any evidence, and throws her into jail.
  • Exaggerated: Alex punishes Betty by having her shot to death by an angry mob.
  • Downplayed: Alex decides Betty is guilty for murder, with no evidence, and gives her a $20 fine.
  • Justified: Alex is a Knight Templar who indiscriminately punishes people he sees as "sinners". Betty happens to be one of them.
    • Betty is living under a dictatorship, and she is seen as a state enemy.
  • Inverted: Betty is given a fair trial, and is acquitted.
  • Subverted: The trial seems staged to Betty but isn't its just a different legal system
  • Double Subverted: But even under that system it is unfair
  • Parodied: The judge presiding at Betty's trial, along with all other members of court, are actual kangaroos.
    • Alice tries to defend herself, but the judge and jury use Insane Troll Logic to convict her anyway.
  • Deconstructed: After one too many false verdicts, someone informs the government about Alex, who is investigated for corruption. He is found guilty, and is stripped of his position.
  • Reconstructed: ???
  • Zig Zagged: There are fair judges, as there are corrupt ones.
  • Averted: Alex is a fair judge.
  • Enforced: ???
  • Lampshaded: "Hey, did you realize that the number of convictions has risen five-fold after Alex was appointed as a judge?" "Yeah, I wonder why..."
  • Invoked: ???
  • Exploited: ???
  • Discussed: ???
  • Conversed: ???
  • Played for Drama: ???

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