common law
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Blockaders even developed a legal argument to justify their actions, drawing on the common law defense of necessity, which allows someone to break a law to achieve a greater moral good.
From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026
Justice Elena Kagan said the administration was seeking to undo a legal tradition of birthright citizenship that dates back to English common law.
From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2026
The English jurist’s “History of the Pleas of the Crown,” published posthumously in 1736, influenced the development of common law in England, the British colonies and, eventually, the United States.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
Under common law, liability for “aiding and abetting” is reserved for parties that consciously induce or assist wrongdoing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
Alabama and common law pleading, for instance, was a subject so ethereal in nature that Henry passed it only by memorizing the book.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
