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.
An administrative court known as the Board of Immigration Appeals has published a body of immigration case law that significantly narrows the due process and relief from deportation available for immigrants, an NPR analysis of its decisions shows. Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 20 Mar. 2026 Shlomo Klapper, the CEO and founder of Learned Hand, said the AI technology provided to the courts is built to be neutral and cautious, and has guardrails meant to avoid fabricating case law. Sean Emery, Oc Register, 20 Mar. 2026 Current law and case law requires that records be provided to the public within three business days of a request. The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2026 Courts are deliberative places, where there are briefing schedules and hundreds of pages of evidentiary documents and lengthy rulings citing hundreds of years of case law. New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 8 Mar. 2026 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 26 Mar. 2026.

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

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