Kangaroo Courts held in various Fan Works.
Crossovers
- Marinette goes through on in #8024
after Lila accuses her of working with Hawkmoth, setting her up as The Scapegoat for her own crimes. Hawkmoth ensures that she's convicted by sending an akuma butterfly to the courtroom, having it perch on the judge's desk facing her. This gets her shunted off to Arkham Asylum in Gotham City, much to the disgust of Joker and most of her fellow inmates. - The Equestrian Wind Mage: When Vaati returns to Hyrule in Season 3, he's immediately arrested for past crimes. His friends worry that he'll suffer one of these and be summarily executed, but Zelda and Impa assure them that it'll be a fair trial. And in the end, it's a total subversion, as the trial is essentially a legal Curb-Stomp Battle in the defense's favor, ensuring Vaati's acquittal.
- The Faith Chronicles: When the Watcher's Council abduct Faith and put her on trial for her association with the Mayor, the "trial" basically consists of them declaring her guilty, ignoring how Faith is now actively trying to atone and just wants them to leave her alone.
- Fantasia Times: The trial for those who attempted to poison Yen Sid is one of these. The accused find themselves with a defense lawyer who was likely picked up off the streets, the judge, jury, and public are all against them thanks to the royal family's Universally Beloved Leader status (to the point that they only briefly question why Princess Sera's loving boyfriend is one of the accused), and Yen Sid himself shows up to confirm that they were the ones that tried to kill him.
- In The Morning After - a crossover between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The West Wing- when circumstances result in President Bartlett and some of his staff learning about Faith's time in prison, they are utterly disgusted to learn the full extent of what she went through. Faith was charged with four counts of homicide and one count of manslaughter, but wasn't allowed to speak in her defence in court, only made a recording of her crimes rather than a written statement, and her statement only confirmed that she was guilty of one negligent homicide, sixteen assaults, and four cases of breaking and entering, none of which she was subsequently tried for. Faith received the maximum possible sentence for her alleged murders and manslaughter when she was just seventeen, even though no real evidence could be provided for either the crimes she admitted to or the crimes that she was charged with, and both the judge who sentenced her and the governor who signed off on the sentence are dead and resigned respectively (the judge spontaneously combusted last December and the governor resigned amid allegations of corruption last November). As last observed, Faith could theoretically sue the government for wrongful imprisonment if she wanted, and Bartlett comments that he's of a mind to have Wolfram & Hart basically dismantled so that Faith can receive due compensation for what they did to her in their role as prosecution.
- The Last Son series features this in Book Two when Ronan the Accuser abducted the X-Men for their "crimes" of harboring Superman, the last Kryptonian and thus an enemy of the Kree, up to and including deliberately not informing the X-Men of their rights as the accused, like their right to have the trial on Earth, which Superman calls him out on (admittedly, this is in part to try and lure Superman into a trap). The trope is called out by Cyclops:Cyclops: This isn't a trial! It's nothing but a farce! You'd made up your mind before we'd even gotten here! Why bother with this stupid kangaroo-court?
- My Brave Pony: Starfleet Magic: In the rewritten version, Ace Ray is given a trial in the loosest sense of the word before being sent to an asylum. The narration actually states, "Court was held the next day at once, at Lightning’s requests for such a severe case, but really, since Ace and his gang were already proven guilty of their crimes charged, the trial was merely to decide the punishment, not the innocence or guilt."
- The Night Unfurls: Defied by Kyril. Anticipating that this trope will happen during a "formal" trial, he demands a Trial by Combat in response to the accusations levelled against him (his murder of Vault, in addition to possible conspiracy against the crown), in Chapter 12 of the remastered version. To be precise, he denies "a court so steeped in its corruption" to try him.
- In the sequel story of the The Loud House and Cthulhu Mythos crossover fic Revival, Yog-Sothoth stages one against the Deep Ones accusing one of them for conspiring with Hastur. When he forces several into making false confessions, he has Cthulhu kill them.
- The longest and most absurd arc of You Got HaruhiRolled! is about Haruhi being prosecuted in one of these... for a breach of etiquette.
- In Three Strikes, Trigger is pretty much convinced that this is what her trial is going to be, believing the brass will refuse to own up to the disastrous results of Operation Lighthouse Keeper and instead use her as a scapegoat. Luckily, her friends and family are able to mitigate the damage and postpone any actual judgement until a better trial can take place and instead get her assigned to the 444th in the meantime.
- Living in a Frog World: Frank was subjected to one as part of his Dark and Troubled Past. After being falsely accused of stealing a pair of shoes, the owner of the shoe company used his influence to ensure he didn't get a fair trial, bribing the judge and jury to get Frank thrown into juvy.
- Daughter of Fire and Steel: General Zod's coup d'etat against the Kryptonian Science Council fails, and its perpetrators are trialed and sentenced to Phantom Zone time. However, Kara thinks their trial was a joke and they were simply railroaded.The rebellion was over and what could be laughably called their trial was over even quicker.
- Subverted in A Prize for Three Empires when Carol Danvers is summoned to an Avengers special tribunal. Carol is certain she is being judged unfairly by hypocrites who have already decided the verdict, but the Avengers were trying to judge her objectionable behavior fairly.Carol: Well, fine. If that's the way you're going to be, I'll save you the trouble of finishing your kangaroo court's vote. Effective immediately— I quit.
- Subverted in The Unfantastic Adventures of Bizarro No. 1, as it could be expected from a story set in a Bizarro Universe. Bizarro Flash is on trial for his wife's murder Iris East. He tries to prove he killed her, but much to his disgust, Iris testifies he didn't do such a thing. He's condemned anyway, but he's still pissed off because his lawyer says he will not have a long sentence.
- Dragon Ball Z: A Good Man: Vegeta is put on trial for his crimes from the time he'd been working for Frieza. Goku tries to convince the six people who captured him that Vegeta is a changed man and deserves mercy. While he manages to convince Justiciars Oom'Bagu, Horkion, Prince Laswe and the planet spirit Misado of Vegeta's change of heart. It's later revealed that Justiciars Nevrrest and Nettelish were conspiring to make sure Vegeta's trial would end with a guilty verdict to further their own agendas.
- The Chosen Six: Discussed when Sirius tells the Evanses about the trial of the Lestranges and Barty Crouch, Jr. Thomas notes that the courtroom seems reminiscent of Bread and Circuses, and Veronica points out that Barty Sr. should have been recused from the trial, given one of the defendants is his own son. Sirius also mentions how many Death Eaters will be able to get off scot-free on the flimsy excuse of being mind-controlled due to their money and connections.
- In Do Not Meddle In The Affairs Of Wizards, Harry was framed for Neville's murder and Fudge took advantage of it to go full press with this trope, not bothering to give Harry a chance to defend himself or make sure the main witness (who was the real murderer) was saying the truth.
- It also wasn't the first time. Apart from the canon examples of Sirius and Hagrid, during the war with Grindelwald a man was accused of murdering the Minister for Magic of the time and quickly judged and executed — only to learn too late that the real killer was someone that resembled him. By then, all the family's properties had been expropriated and given to the victims of his supposed crimes, and the family (by then formed by the man's teenaged son and pre-teen daughters) was left destitute and in the streets because no one wanted to take them in. The son was forced to put his sisters in an orphanage, and when his attempts to recover his property by legal means failed, he joined the Death Eaters to attain some form of justice.
- The Wizengamot in Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality embodies this, although not all of its members go along with the unfair prosecution of Hermione Granger.
- Harry Potter: Master of Malicious Compliance: Fudge and Umbridge attempt this after Harry (with the help of Rita Skeeter), destroys Fudge's marriage, points out how incompetent Fudge is and how Fudge awards himself an Order of Merlin without doing a damn thing. Unfortunately, Harry and Ragnok turn this around by pointing out that Harry was in London when the use of magic in Little Whinging happened, that Dudley was kissed by a Dementor, and of course, this is Harry's first trial. Amelia sums it up thusly.Amelia Then why was the entire Wizengamot called for this? First time offences don't get hearings, Cornelius. And as it's obvious to me that he did not perform a spell in front of a muggle, and that a muggle has indeed been Kissed by a Dementor that is supposed to be heavily regulated by the Ministry, I say this entire hearing is pointless. Unless you have an ulterior motive?
- In This World and the Next: Harry and Hermione, in their trial for killing Ron and aborting his baby, respectively. They know they have no hope of getting off, especially since the dementor is already there, so they merely decide to taunt Ron and those who put them on trial before they go.
- The Odds Were Never In My Favour: Crouch ran one during the war that was so flagrantly corrupt that Bellatrix was able to get her conviction overturned when she escaped prison and managed to take a copy of her trial's transcript to the ICW appeals court. They were so horrified by the lack of due process involved that they invalidated her conviction then and there.
- The Peace Not Promised: When Severus is brought up on charges of poaching, the court seems to be stacked against him, and he doesn't understand why. He's not given a copy of the prosecution's brief in advance, not until he insists on it while actually standing in court, and then he's denied a recess to study it and prepare his defence. The investigating Auror's account of interviewing him conveniently omits any mention of his defence (namely, they didn't set out to poach it, just defended themselves), and the judge doesn't allow him to grill the Auror on the contents of it, even after Severus has highlighted a glaring inconsistency (the charge is poaching, but all parts of the creature were present and accounted for; nothing was actually taken). And it's pretty clear that there is not a presumption of "innocent until guilt is proven beyond reasonable doubt."
- Whispers of a Raven: Harry is put on trial for killing a man who attempted to kill him first, after Harry thwarted his assassination of someone else — but the dead man was the son of a Lord who was close to Minister Bagnold, so the minister is keen to convict Harry of murder anyway (and she assumes that being held in Azkaban for two weeks before the trial will leave him too slow-witted to do anything about it).Harry: Since I have not been granted legal counsel, been asked to provide a sworn statement, nor memory of the event, I can only assume that such a thing is not necessary and that I will be acquitted of all charges without delay.
- In Herding Cats, Nepeta is on trial for the attempted murder of Eridan when Tavros leaves, accusing the others of holding a "kangaram court". He's correct, but everyone else was just trying to get Nepeta to admit her caliginous feelings for Eridan, not actually prosecute her.
- Dark Valkyrie: The Council of Chiefs are forced to subject Astrid to one as they were under pressure from the families of those killed by Astrid’s attacks on the dragon auctions. Rather than tell them that their loved ones violated the treaty not to harm dragons, they pinned the blame on Astrid herself (which Hiccup rightly calls them out on). They still have the gall to vote in favor for a punishment, but only three of them actually call this vote. The other eight vote in favor of Astrid, seeing how much of a farce the whole trial really is.
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- Chrysalis Visits The Hague: This is what the Equestrian court system is described as; it is personally headed by Princess Celestia, the judges are devoted subjects, and there seems to be little to no emphasis on defence. The human lawyer Estermann predicts that his client Chrysalis wouldn't survive an Equestrian trial.
- Diaries of a Madman: Celestia has Rarity and Navarone briefly convicted for treason, just because she was bored.
- A Diplomatic Visit: In chapter 18, Celestia mentions an event from some hundred years ago in which a griffon chef, Gravon, was arrested on trumped-up charges simply because the head health inspector didn't like him for serving meat and had been harassing him; the last straw was his tricking said inspector, who had a very sensitive stomach, into eating liver tartare (ground, raw meat with a raw egg and some vegetation), which got him charged with attempted murder. He was tried by a jury of his rivals, who all ran vegetarian restaurants and took just five minutes to declare him guilty, despite flimsy evidence on the prosecution's part and clear bias exposed on the inspector's. (Celestia herself was out of the country and didn't find out until later, otherwise she would have made sure it was a fair trial.)
- Escape from the Moon: In the sequel The Mare From the Moon, Spliced's trial in chapter 29 starts out as one, with the defense having been given only two days (as opposed to the prosecution's two weeks) and the three judges blatantly trying to manipulate things in favor of conviction by interrupting the Defense's opening statement. Spliced responds to this with a rant that convinces them to subvert it for fear of her getting Off on a Technicality. Then a higher court overrules their final decision and sends her back to prison anyway.
- Loved and Lost: Prince Jewelius puts the princesses, Shining Armor, and the rest of Twilight's friends on trial for their role in causing the invasion of Canterlot. However, there is no jury or witnesses (possibly so that nopony can object to Jewelius legalizing slavery in Equestria) and the heroes (who are given no legal representation) are automatically found guilty of treason without receiving a chance to properly defend themselves or call upon witnesses to speak on their behalf.
- This is played even further in the 11th chapter when Jewelius announces to the imprisoned heroes that Celestia will be hanged that same night. When Spike protests by saying that she should be put on trial first, Jewelius replies that a trial was already held earlier that day — with Celestia being in absentia!
- No Order in the Court: Twilight Sparkle angrily declares that her trial is one of these, as the prosecutor relies heavily upon Insane Troll Logic in his efforts to convict her of a crime she didn't commit.
- The Power of the Equinox: After Dimmed Star (a transformed Twilight Sparkle) kills over a dozen royal guards under the influence of the Entity, Equestria's governing council puts her on trial immediately in the following morning. A conventional grace period of three weeks is skipped, though that's explained by the severity of the charges. However, before the trial begins, Twilight's friends (who've been brought in as character witnesses) notice that there's no defence arranged.note In response, Hasty Vote dares to tell the five mares that their friend has already been found guilty. Also, Business Savvy, the father of one of Dimmed Star's victims, is allowed to act as one of the judges (though Fancy Pants, aware that Business Savvy is too close to the case to give an informed and reasonable vote, tries to convince him to sit it out, while Princess Celestia threatens to find a stand-in if Business Savvy refuses to keep his cool and give a fair and concise ruling). However, Dimmed Star puts a stop to the trial and says her piece to the council before departing for Ponyville.
- In Rites of Ascension, Shining Armor is subject to one after the coup attempt against Canterlot. He demonstrates that he and the Royal Guard could not have been better prepared, and that if anything the nobles were more responsible for the state of things, but since said nobles are the adjudicators it doesn't really help.
- A Crown of Stars: In the preceding fic blood-thirsty dictator Winthrop got shot in a basement without due process. When the Avalon army invaded South America in order to depose the warlords and tyrants tearing the continent apart they declared that all dictators that they apprehended would face fair trials... but previously they had captured Don Barceló, a bloody criminal and rapist that had terrorized Buenos Aires and they had chosen his punishment on their own. And the Army's leaders - Asuka and Shinji - would love to kill Jinnai with their bare hands.
- Scar Tissue: Gendo assists a meeting with a group of politicians that intend to extradite him to the International Court. During the procedure it is obvious that they plan turning him in a scapegoat to cover up their dealings with Seele, and they would love an excuse to get him shot without prior trial.
- In Utopia Unmade, Miki is accused of being an assassin, and Love assumes she has no chance of getting an innocent verdict due to Reika's rivalry with her. Since Precure are judged by other Cures, she manages to convince all the other Cures in the Palace of Smiles except those closest to Reika to vote innocent. It ends up being in vain, as Miki is condemned to death due to Reika exploiting a law that states absent Precure automatically vote the defendant guilty.
- In A Young Girl's Delinquency Record, Tanya fears her war crimes trial will be this, as half the judges are from countries she had fought against. If anyone had told her precisely what the rigged verdict was supposed to be (discharge from the military and exile from Europe) instead of letting her think they were going to hang her for reasons of politics, most of the story wouldn't have happened.
- Chasing Dragons: The Braavosi set one up in Pentos after seizing the city. The best outcome for the accused is being sentenced to work as galley oarsmen, having lost all their wealth.
- Robb Returns: In an unusual use of this trope, it's the "good guys" (insomuch as that can be a thing in Westeros) who are on the giving end this time: Stannis and Jon Arryn give Petyr Baelish a mock-trial-by-combat that is an execution in all but name. However, there are several reasons that make this a more understandable decision; Jon and Stannis have a mountain of evidence directly implicating Baelish, including a large number of witnesses, Baelish himself had earlier confessed to the charges, and, most importantly, Baelish has knowledge of a matter that could start a war if it ever publicly became known (that the King's children are all bastards born of incest), so it's too dangerous to give him a proper trial where he might reveal this.
- The Weirwood Queen has an unusual example where the defendant is guilty of the crime and the court (most of whom don't believe she did it) are trying to prove her innocent due to their own agenda. That is, Sansa killed Joffrey and the Lannisters put forward evidence that she's too weak and gentle to have done it. This is because they hope to marry her to a member of their family and want to quash the ridiculous rumours about her actions. Sansa proceeds to confess to turning into a red direwolf to push Joffrey to his death (true), then accuses Tywin Lannister of various crimes (also true), and finally demands a trial by combat.
- Destiny Intertwined: Hayze's "trial" on top of the Ancestor Temple is driven primarily by the heads of Frostspear clan viewing dark dragons as subhuman (or, well, subdraconic) monsters and wanting to strike a blow against their rivals in the Stormbringer clan. They attempt to browbeat the Warfang Council and its Guardians into having Hayze either imprisoned or executed for wanting to leave the city and supposedly trying to kidnap Malefor, using circumstantial evidence and blatantly untrue accusations while playing on racism against dark dragons.
- Blooper Mario Sunshine: Mario is accused of polluting Isle Delfino shortly after arriving and is immediately found guilty upon being put on trial in an exaggerated version of the court scene from Super Mario Sunshine. And this happens twice.
- Double Subverted in Super Mario Sunshine: A Sprite of Light. The court scene initially plays out exactly the same as in the game, only Mario's friends Luigi, Daisy, and Aqua are also getting sentenced. But after the judge overrules Peach, Toad, Toadette, and Toadsworth angrily threaten to sue the court if the judge doesn't let Peach speak in the heroes' defense. Peach does get a chance to speak and brings out good evidence. However, a jury that wasn't even present in the original game is so dead set on Mario and Co. being the criminals that they present their own Insane Troll Logic on how they are guilty. Thus, Peach still fails to prove them innocent.
- La Belle: Almost subverted; Ganondorf was given a fair trial to test the red herrings against him. It's ultimately all rendered useless by the fact that one of the members of the jury was hypnotized by the killer, which worked perfectly to the murderer's advantage when the jury ended up in a tie.
- On Trial: Cassandra receives one of these (as it is what sets up the plot of the fic). Both the judge and jury hate her, Rapunzel, Eugene and anyone who would defend her were kept from coming (except for Varian, who managed to sneak in), and she's being taunted/threatened the entire time by James the guard, who Varian later implies was groping her the whole time.
- Co-op Mode: After Taylor and James get into a fight with Sophia, Madison, Emma and their cronies, Taylor names this trope word-for-word for the 'talk' they end up having with Blackwell. This leads them into getting a quest to reveal the corruption at Winslow.
