Legal Dictionary of Pakistan
Quick lookup for English, Urdu, and Latin legal terms used in Pakistani jurisprudence.
special plea
A plea alleging one or more new facts rather than merely disputing the legal grounds of the action or charge. ( All pleas other than general issues are special pleas. See general issue under issUE (1).
special plea in bar
A plea that, rather than addressing the merits and denying the facts alleged, sets up some extrinsic fact by reason of which a criminal defendant cannot be tried for the offense charged. ( Examples include the plea of autrefois acquit and the plea of pardon. plea in confession and avoidance. See CONFESSION AND AVOIDANCE. plea in discharge See PLEA (3).
special plea in error
At common law, a plea alleging some extraneous matter as a ground for defeating a writ of error (such as a release or expiration of the time within which error can be brought), to which the plaintiff in error must reply or demur.
special pleader
See PLEADER.
special pleading
1 The common-law system of pleading that required the parties to exchange a series of court papers (such as replications, rebutters, and surrebutters) setting out their contentions in accordance with hypertechnical rules before a case could be tried. ( Often, therefore, cases were decided on points of pleading and not on the merits. 2. The art of drafting pleadings under this system. 3. An instance of drafting such a pleading. 4. A responsive pleading that does more than merely deny allegations, as by introducing new matter to justify an otherwise blameworthy act. 5. An argument that is unfairly slanted toward the speaker's viewpoint because it omits unfavorable facts or authorities and develops only favorable ones.