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

When it came to creating this new government, rebelling against and pushing back against restrictions we had experienced under English common law, press freedom was seen to be essential.

From Slate • Feb. 24, 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

Congress had moved gradual emancipation off its political agenda; its decision in the spring of 1790 became a precedent with the force of common law.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis