Meaning of court of public opinion | Babel Free

Definitions

The news media and the public at large, seen as being able to deliver a judgement on someone in the manner of a judge.

idiomatic

Examples

“In the court of public opinion, the burden of proof clearly rests on the side of the Government to show that Microsoft has done anything illegal.”

“After ending Great Britain's 79-year wait for the Davis Cup, Andy Murray revealed that he discovered a ghost town when he visited the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton a couple of months ago, and his verbal volley has pushed the Lawn Tennis Association into a vulnerable position in the court of public opinion.”

“I had been acquitted in a court of law, but sentenced to life by the court of public opinion as, if not a killer, then at least a slut, or a nutcase, or a tabloid celebrity.”

CEFR level