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

His daughters will be allowed to testify behind a partition over the strong objections of their father and his defense team, who wanted the girls to testify in open court. — Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2026

Two points later, with Tiafoe pinned in his forehand corner, Michelsen hit an open forehand back at him instead of into the open court. — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026

The motion filed Friday suggests the defense wants the judge to read out all further jury questions and notes in open court, rather than keeping them private in sidebar. — Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 4 Sep. 2026

Following closed-door arguments Tuesday morning and additional arguments in open court, Graf again denied a defense motion seeking to remove cameras from the courtroom. — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026

Rhymes for open court

• heliport
• nonsupport
• reexport
• teleport
• ultrashort
• abort
• airport
• alport
• athwart
• carport
• comport
• consort

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