PLEA

plea

(noun) an answer indicating why a suit should be dismissed

plea

(noun) (law) a defendant’s answer by a factual matter (as distinguished from a demurrer)

supplication, plea

(noun) a humble request for help from someone in authority

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

plea (plural pleas)

An appeal, petition, urgent prayer or entreaty.

An excuse; an apology.

That which is alleged or pleaded, in defense or in justification.

(legal) That which is alleged by a party in support of his cause.

(legal) An allegation of fact in a cause, as distinguished from a demurrer.

(legal) The defendant’s answer to the plaintiff’s declaration and demand.

(legal) A cause in court; a lawsuit; as, the Court of Common Pleas.

Usage notes

In 19th-century U.K. law, that which the plaintiff alleges in his declaration is answered and repelled or justified by the defendant’s plea. In chancery practice, a plea is a special answer showing or relying upon one or more things as a cause why the suit should be either dismissed, delayed, or barred. In criminal practice, the plea is the defendant’s formal answer to the indictment or information presented against him/her.

Synonyms

• plaidoyer

Verb

plea (third-person singular simple present pleas, present participle pleaing, simple past and past participle pleaed)

(chiefly, England regional, Scotland) To plead; to argue. [from 15th c.]

Anagrams

• Alep, LEAP, Lape, Leap, Peal, e-pal, leap, pale, pale-, peal, pela

Source: Wiktionary

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Plea, n. Etym: [OE. plee, plai, plait, fr. OF. plait, plaid, plet, LL. placitum judgment, decision, assembly, court, fr. L. placitum that which is pleasing, an opinion, sentiment, from placere to please. See Please, and cf. Placit, Plead.]

1. (Law)

Definition: That which is alleged by a party in support of his cause; in a stricter sense, an allegation of fact in a cause, as distinguished from a demurrer; in a still more limited sense, and in modern practice, the defendant's answer to the plaintiff's declaration and demand. That which the plaintiff alleges in his declaration is answered and repelled or justified by the defendant's plea. In chancery practice, a plea is a special answer showing or relying upon one or more things as a cause why the suit should be either dismissed, delayed, or barred. In criminal practice, the plea is the defendant's formal answer to the indictment or information presented against him.

2. (Law)

Definition: A cause in court; a lawsuit; as, the Court of Common Pleas. See under Common. The Supreme Judicial Court shall have cognizance of pleas real, personal, and mixed. Laws of Massachusetts.

3. That which is alleged or pleaded, in defense or in justification; an excuse; an apology. "Necessity, the tyrant's plea." Milton. No plea must serve; 't is cruelty to spare. Denham.

4. An urgent prayer or entreaty. Pleas of the crown (Eng. Law), criminal actions.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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