three-judge court
three-judge court 〈美〉三法官合议法庭 在联邦地区法院的多数案件通常都是由一名法官独任审理和裁决的，但对某些种类的案件国会规定需由三名法官组成合议庭进行审理，以给予特别的保障，防止一名法官可能导致的擅断。尤其是对某些以违宪为由请求禁止适用联邦或州的制定法，或者州的行政命令的案件。但是在1976年废除了对此类案件由三法官合议审理的做法，而限定只有在国会要求时，或对以国会议席的分配违反宪法为由提起的诉讼才召集三法官法庭合议审理。
three-judge court
three judge court
A court made up of three judges; esp., a panel of three federal judges convened to hear a trial in which a statute is challenged on constitutional grounds. • Three-judge courts were virtually abolished in 1976 when Congress restricted their jurisdiction to constitutional challenges to congressional reapportionments. Occasionally, Congress creates three-judge courts in special legislation,