have the law of

present singular third person has the law of · participle present having the law of · participle past had the law of · past had the law of

1. colloquialdatedidiomaticTo take legal action against someone.

   But those citizens of the Corporation, hungry to have the law of him, saw nothing it may be but a bad example.

   1902, W. B. Yeats, Freedom of the Theatre

   1 more example

   It is a kind of lottery, in which every man, staking his own wit or cunning against his neighbour's property, feels that he has little to lose, and much to gain. "I'll have the law of you, so I will!" — is the saying of an Englishman, who expects justice.

   1800, Maria Edgeworth, Castle Rackrent