Why do we call a predictable trial a “kangaroo court”?

The expression “kangaroo court” came out of Texas in the 1850s. It meant that the accused’s guilt was predetermined and that the trial was a mere formality before punishment. Kangaroo was a Texas reference to Australia, a former British penal colony where everyone had been guilty of something, and so if a convict were accused of a new crime, there would be no doubt of his guilt. a href="http://nowyouknow101.blo.com" rel="nofollow"http://nowyouknow101.blo.com/a