case law

noun

: law established by judicial decision in cases

Examples of case law in a Sentence

Case law says that a person has a right to privacy.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Mike Hiestand, senior legal counsel at the Student Press Law Center, said First Amendment case law going back 60 years shows student editors at public universities determine content. Todd Richmond, Twin Cities, 17 Oct. 2025 Holmes and other legal professionals say there are common telltale signs of careless AI use, such as citations to nonexistent case law, filler language that was left in, and ChatGPT-style emoji or formatting that looks nothing like a typical legal document. Angela Yang, NBC news, 8 Oct. 2025 Last week, both teams revealed their sentence requests to the judge along with corresponding case law. Essence, 7 Oct. 2025 Poa contends this presents a conflict that is unsupported by the statute, case law or agency guidance. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 22 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for case law

Word History

First Known Use

1731, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of case law was in 1731

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Cite this Entry

“Case law.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/case%20law. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

Legal Definition

case law

noun
: law established by judicial decisions in cases as distinguished from law created by legislation

called also decisional law

see also common law

More from Merriam-Webster on case law

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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