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.

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Etymology

Origin of special plea

First recorded in 1710–20

Example Sentences

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

His rather obscure chapter in "Chartism" on "Rights and Mights" can, with little effort, be turned into a special plea for absolutism.

From Sketches of Reforms and Reformers, of Great Britain and Ireland by Stanton, Henry B.