What is "instance court"

Instance \In"stance\, n. [F. instance, L. instantia, fr. instans. See Instant.]

1. The act or quality of being instant or pressing; urgency; solicitation; application; suggestion; motion.

   Undertook at her instance to restore them.
   --Sir W. Scott.

2. That which is instant or urgent; motive. [Obs.]

   The instances that second marriage move Are base respects of thrift, but none of love.
   --Shak.

3. Occasion; order of occurrence.

   These seem as if, in the time of Edward I., they were drawn up into the form of a law, in the first instance.
   --Sir M. Hale.

4. That which offers itself or is offered as an illustrative case; something cited in proof or exemplification; a case occurring; an example; as, we could find no instance of poisoning in the town within the past year.

   Most remarkable instances of suffering.
   --Atterbury.

5. A token; a sign; a symptom or indication.
   --Shak.

   Causes of instance, those which proceed at the solicitation of some party.
   --Hallifax.

   Court of first instance, the court by which a case is first tried.

   For instance, by way of example or illustration; for example.

   Instance Court (Law), the Court of Admiralty acting within its ordinary jurisdiction, as distinguished from its action as a prize court.

   Syn: Example; case. See Example.