plea

n.

1. An earnest request; an appeal: spoke out in a plea for greater tolerance.
2. An excuse; a pretext: "necessity,/The Tyrant's plea" (John Milton).
3. Law.
   1. An allegation offered in pleading a case.
   2. A defendant's answer to the declaration made by the plaintiff in a civil action.
   3. The answer of the accused to a criminal charge or indictment: entered a plea of not guilty.
   4. A special answer depending on or demonstrating one or more reasons why a suit should be delayed, dismissed, or barred in equity law.
   5. An action or suit.

[Middle English plai, lawsuit, from Old French plai, plaid, from Late Latin placitum, decree, from Latin, from neuter past participle of placēre, to please.]

noun

1. An earnest or urgent request: appeal, entreaty, imploration, prayer¹, supplication. See ask/answer.
2. An explanation offered to justify an action or make it better understood: excuse, pretext. See explain/baffle.

n

Definition: begging request
Antonyms: answer, reply

n

Definition: excuse, defense
Antonyms: decision, sentence

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This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

A formal response by the defendant to the affirmative assertions of the plaintiff in a civil case or to the charges of the prosecutor in a criminal case.

Under the old system of common-law pleading, a plea was the defendant's first pleading in a case, the document in which he set out reasons why the plaintiff should not win on the claim made in his or her declaration. Rather than enter a plea, a defendant could file a demurrer, which was a pleading in which the defendant argued that the plaintiff had not made out a legally sufficient case. If the defendant did not demur, he responded to the plaintiff's declaration with a plea.

There were two kinds of pleas, dilatory and peremptory. A dilatory plea did not argue against the merits of the plaintiff's claim but challenged that individual's right to have the court hear the case. It was called dilatory not because it unfairly delayed the trial but simply because it postponed the time when, if ever, the court would reach the merits of the case. A plea in abatement was a dilatory plea.

A peremptory plea, also called a plea in bar, did reach the merits of the case. It set out certain facts that the defendant claimed would bar the granting of relief to the plaintiff.

The plea could be a traverse, a full denial of the plaintiff's version of the facts. In that situation, the issue was defined, and the case went to trial for a determination in favor of one party or the other.

The plea could be a confession and avoidance, by which the defendant conceded the truth of the plaintiff's allegations but asserted new facts by which she sought to avoid the legal effect of the plaintiff's claim. For example, the defendant could admit that she had made a bargain as claimed by the plaintiff and then add that she was a minor at the time that she entered into the agreement and therefore could not be bound by it. At that point, no issue would yet have been disputed by both parties, and the plaintiff would have to respond to the plea. The plaintiff had the same range of possible responses that the defendant had had when she selected the plea, but the plaintiff's responsive pleading was called a replication. If the plaintiff raised a new question, the defendant had to respond with a rejoinder. After that, the pleading process could bounce back and forth with a surrejoinder, a rebutter, and a surrebutter. Common-law pleading thus became so complex and hypertechnical that it has now been replaced by code pleading and pleading similar to that of the federal civil procedure.

A defendant could also enter a plea in a case in equity. This was a special kind of answer to a bill in equity, that showed one or more reasons why the suit should be dismissed, delayed, or barred entirely. Since the procedures for cases at law and in equity have been merged, the plea in equity has also been abolished.

A criminal defendant has some options in responding to charges made against him. The rules of criminal procedure in the federal courts and many state courts permit a defendant to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or nolo contendere, which means "I do not wish to contest it." If a defendant fails or refuses to enter any plea at all, the court will enter a plea of "not guilty" for that individual, and then the trial may begin.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - undskyldning, påskud, bøn, påstand, erklæring

idioms:

• plea bargain    studehandel

Nederlands (Dutch)
verklaring van een verdachte in een proces, excuus, smeekbede, pleidooi

Français (French)
n. - appel, demande, (Jur) plaidoyer, excuse, sous prétexte que

idioms:

• plea bargain    (Jur) arrangement entre la défense et l'accusation visant à réduire les charges si l'accusé plaide coupable pour un délit moins grave

Deutsch (German)
n. - Einrede, Begründung, Entschuldigung

idioms:

• plea bargain    Abkommen, gegen Vergünstigungen ein (Teil)geständnis abzulegen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - έκκληση, πρόφαση, ισχυρισμός, (νομ.) αγωγή, ένσταση

idioms:

• plea bargain    παραδοχή ενοχής αποβλέπουσα σε μειωμένη ποινή

Italiano (Italian)
supplica, appello, arringa

idioms:

• plea bargain    patteggiamento

Português (Portuguese)
n. - súplica (f), alegação (f)

idioms:

• plea bargain    declarar-se culpado de um crime menor para escapar julgamento por crime mais sério

Русский (Russian)
заявление в суде, предлог

idioms:

• plea bargain    согласие ответчика признать себя виновным

Español (Spanish)
n. - súplica, ruego, petición, pretexto, disculpa, alegato

idioms:

• plea bargain    sentencia de conformidad, sentencia acordada

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - försvar, vädjan, åberopande, inlaga, svar

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
恳求, 辩解, 请求

idioms:

• plea bargain    认罪辩诉协议

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 懇求, 辯解, 請求

idioms:

• plea bargain    認罪辯訴協議

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 탄원, 해명

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 嘆願, 弁解, 抗弁

idioms:

• plea bargain    有罪答弁取引
• plea of tender    和解請願

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) حجه, عذر, تعلل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮בקשה, הפצרה, טענה, תירוץ, הצהרה, כתב-הגנה‬

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