special plea

American  

noun

Law.

1. a plea that alleges special or new matter as an answer to the allegations made by the opposite side and not as a denial of them.

---

Etymology

Origin of special plea

First recorded in 1710–20

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

special plea

It's a special plea for a form of moral reckoning, one that worship of the marketplace has made impossible.

From Salon ● Dec. 25, 2021

"The special plea is dismissed," Judge Piet Koen said.

From Reuters ● Oct. 26, 2021

It would take an awful lot of interpretive hopscotch to see “J’accuse” as a special plea on behalf of its director, and it would come at the expense of actually seeing the movie itself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2019

After postponing the vote in Parliament, Mrs May travelled to Brussels to make a special plea to EU leaders, in a bid to make her deal more acceptable to MPs.

From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2018

Professor Woodberry has made a special plea in his Inspiration of Poetry for a return of poetry to poetic madness.

From The Literature of Ecstasy by Mordell, Albert