Quite recently, I've noticed media articles using pleaded rather often - as in, he pleaded guilty to the crime.
Personally, I prefer "pled." I don't know why, but that's just the way I am.
What does everyone think about this? What are your preferences?
Personally, I prefer "pled." I don't know why, but that's just the way I am.
What does everyone think about this? What are your preferences?
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Allentown
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Re: pleaded vs pled?
Fri, March 14, 2008 - 8:07 PMI don't think I can come up with a definitive source for this, but my sense is that "pleaded" is preferred in the legal community, much as is "hanged" vs. "hung." (The hanged-vs.-hung thing obviously has another reason for its existence in this context as well...) Why that is I can't tell you, but I *can* tell you that I've observed in my 25+ years (aaaaack) of working with them that attorneys tend to love tradition. My guess is that "pleaded" is a linguistic anachronism, along with "wherefore," "herewith," "witnesseth," and "know all men by these presents." -
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Re: pleaded vs pled?
Sat, March 15, 2008 - 3:43 AMWell, I checked dictionary.com and they showed that both were acceptable. It's just strange for me to see "so-and-so pleaded guilty to whatever charge." It has been in my local newspaper twice and on CNN once in the past few days.
Meanwhile, I can see your point about common vs. legal. As hard as it is for me to hear "pleaded guilty," I would certainly never say that I pleaded with my mother to give me something.
Did you also see my previous thread about hung vs. hanged? I don't think we really came up with a definitive answer there either, but it was quite interesting.
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Re: pleaded vs pled?
Sat, March 15, 2008 - 8:25 AMLaw prefers traditional usage for good reason: one is daily forced to deal with laws passed in different decades, different centuries even, and its best if the meanings remain as consistent as possible. Novelty is a plague! :o)
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Re: pleaded vs pled?
Sun, March 23, 2008 - 10:54 AMThis just seems the ongoing evolution of "regular" vs. "irregular" verbs. Reminds of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode where the question arises: "Is it slayed or slew?" Answer: Both are correct, actually.
Craig in Arcata
PS. I prefer pled as well.; )
