In Hammerstein's original text (and stage directions), the legal proceedings against Curly are not really a kangaroo court since Jud Fry's death is an open-and-shut case of self-defense, witnessed by the entire group at the shivaree/hazing...
I would disagree, even Nunn's production reinforced the extra-judicial quality of the ending. The case is not tried in court but in a community that never liked Jud Fry to begin with. It's a very ambiguous moment and one that can be played in a spectrum of ways.
