criminal law

noun

: the law of crimes and their punishments

Examples of criminal law in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Companies that export tech products to China may no longer have State or Commerce Department employees available to explain, for free, how to avoid violating criminal law. —Simon Shuster, TIME, 7 Feb. 2025

This Supreme Court decision said that the President has complete control over deciding when and how to enforce criminal law, and, by implication, civil law. —Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025

But a change in enforcement priorities is not the same as a change in federal statutes, and companies will still be subject to the same basic criminal laws as before. —Michael Peregrine, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025

The criminal division is responsible for enforcing federal criminal laws, often partnering with the 93 U.S. attorney's offices across the country. —Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1672, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

criminal law

noun

: public law that deals with crimes and their prosecution compare civil law

Note: Substantive criminal law defines crimes, and procedural criminal law sets down criminal procedure. Substantive criminal law was originally common law for the most part. It was later codified and is now found in federal and state statutory law.