A court of first instance is different from a court of appeal, which is a court of last resort. In the federal judicial system, a federal district court is a court of first instance, while the Supreme Court is the court of last instance. This sentence refers to the court of first instance where a case was first heard. "In the first place," Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in%20the%20first%20instance. Retrieved 16 October 2022. A court of first instance is the court hearing the case for the first time. This is in contrast to a court hearing an appeal case, for example. Supported by Black`s Law Dictionary, Free 2nd ed., and The Law Dictionary. You must – there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you`re looking for one that is only included in the full Merriam-Webster dictionary. Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America`s largest dictionary with: The first trial court to sue.