special pleading
- noun
- /ˈspɛʃəl ˈplidɪŋ/
- Jargon
:
alegación especial
- The court distinguished between a general denial and a special pleading that introduced new evidence.
Examples
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The defense attorney submitted a special pleading in response to the plaintiff’s accusation.
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His use of special pleading attempted to circumvent the main point of the lawsuit.
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A special pleading was filed yesterday.
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Don't use special pleading in your argument!
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In her response, the lawyer resorted to special pleading by presenting new facts that contradicted the accusations.
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The judge noted that the defendant's special pleading did not directly deny the claims but instead introduced unrelated information.
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To strengthen his case, the attorney filed a special pleading outlining fresh evidence that challenged the original allegations.
Synonyms
A defendant's statement giving new facts to defeat the plaintiff's claim
Surface Forms
Morphology
The parts 'special' (particular/unusual) and 'pleading' (an argument or plea) give a learner some clue that this refers to a particular kind of argument or request. However, the precise rhetorical meaning — making an unjustified exception or ignoring contrary evidence (a fallacy) — is a technical, non-obvious extension and is unlikely to be fully predictable to a B1 learner, so the expression is only partly transparent.
Etymology
Special pleading comes from law. Lawyers filed a 'special' pleading — a written paper that added extra facts to avoid the main accusation instead of simply denying it, so in law it means a pleading that introduces new facts.
