STARCHAMBER
Star"-cham`ber, n. Etym: [So called (as conjectured by Blackstone)
from being held in a room at the Exchequer where the chests
containing certain Jewish comtracts and obligations called starrs
(from the Heb. shetar, pron. shtar) were kept; or from the stars with
which the ceiling is supposed to have been decorated.] (Eng. Hist.)
Definition: An ancient high court exercising jurisdiction in certain cases,
mainly criminal, which sat without the intervention of a jury. It
consisted of the king's council, or of the privy council only with
the addition of certain judges. It could proceed on mere rumor or
examine witnesses; it could apply torture. It was abolished by the
Long Parliament in 1641. Encyc. Brit.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition