open court

noun

: a court that anyone is allowed to attend
He testified in open court.

Examples of open court in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
The husband and wife have three children ages 13, 10 and 7, according to a woman in open court during the probable cause hearing. Landon Mion, Fox News, 23 Oct. 2024 The judge also pushed Mohawk’s countersuit into arbitration, a forum for resolving disputes privately instead of in open court. Joel Khalili, WIRED, 21 Oct. 2024 Advertisement O’Connell’s friends and parishioners had hoped Thursday’s preliminary hearing — usually the first time prosecutors have to present significant evidence in a case in open court — would provide some motive for the out-of-nowhere shooting. James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2024 Prosecutors are now considering the offer from attorney Abbe Lowell after first hearing of it in open court as jury selection in the Biden son's trial was set to get underway, according to CBS News. Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY, 5 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for open court 

Dictionary Entries Near open court

Cite this Entry

“Open court.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/open%20court. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Legal Definition

open court

noun
1
: a recorded judicial proceeding that is presided over by a judge and attended by the parties and their attorneys and that is convened for the purpose of conducting official business compare in camera
2
: a session of a court that is open to the public
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!