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.
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 Some judges were also already using AI chatbots, Mehmood says, but commercial offerings performed poorly on Pakistani legal queries, frequently hallucinating case law. — Edd Gent, IEEE Spectrum, 12 Aug. 2026 DeWester repeatedly said that the ballots should be valid, arguing that state statute and case law don't invalidate ballots for missing stamped signatures. — Marissa Meador, IndyStar, 11 Aug. 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

Rhymes for case law

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Browse Nearby Words

case knife
case law
caseless
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Cite this Entry

“Case law.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/case%20law. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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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

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about case law

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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