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.
Lawyers alleged this practice was not only unfair but violated state law and a tenant’s common law right to review bills they were expected to pay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
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
Misconduct in Public Office is part of England's "common law" - which means judges came up with it hundreds of years ago, rather than Parliament.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 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
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
