pass/pronounce sentence

idiom

law

: to announce a guilty person's punishment in a court of law

Before passing sentence, the judge commented on the seriousness of the crime.

The chief justice passed/pronounced sentence on the convict.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

The job of the judge and jury in Saint Omer, the small city in northern France where the trial takes place, is to figure out why Laurence killed Elise and to pass sentence on her. —A.o. Scott, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2023