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

Wong said Hawaii case law prohibits juror testimony on the internal mental processes of other jurors. — ABC News, 18 Sep. 2026

The appellate court not only ordered the Midway District’s height limit restored, but published its decision as a binding precedent on CEQA case law for lower courts. — Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026

Retired District Judge Michael Chitty denied Anthony’s request after reviewing the motion, court record, evidence and arguments, briefs and relevant case law, according to his order. — Greg Wehner , Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 22 Aug. 2026

Attorneys for State Farm apologized to a court for submitting legal briefings rife with artificial intelligence hallucinations and nonexistent case law, the latest example of lawyers bolstering their arguments with precedents made up by a chatbot. — Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1731, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for case law

• allantois
• baccarat
• chickasaw
• mackinaw
• overawe
• oversaw
• quebecois
• yojana
• aa
• aha
• bashaw
• bradshaw

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