Also known as: plea · argument
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A historical French term for an advocate's plea in court.
In an 18th-century Paris court, advocate Henri Dubois presents a plaidoyer on behalf of a merchant client challenging a royal edict. The presiding magistrate accepts the filing after review. No procedural bar arises because the plaidoyer meets contemporary formal requirements.
Advocate Claire Moreau enters a plaidoyer of guilty during negotiations but later withdraws it before judgment. Prosecutors attempt to introduce the plea in a later civil matter. The tribunal excludes the evidence because the plaidoyer was withdrawn.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Advocate Louis Bernard secures acceptance of a guilty plaidoyer resulting in final judgment. Authorities later attempt prosecution for related conduct. The court dismisses the new matter because the earlier plaidoyer produced a conviction triggering double-jeopardy protection.
Advocate Marie Leclerc recommends accepting a plea offer in a criminal matter. Client Jean Valois decides after consultation to reject the offer and proceed to trial. The advocate abides by that choice because the client alone determines whether to enter the plaidoyer.
Defendant Pierre Durant refuses to enter any plea at arraignment despite repeated inquiries. The judge records a not-guilty plaidoyer on his behalf and sets the matter for trial. The proceeding moves forward without further delay.
Defendant Sophie Laurent signs a knowing and voluntary waiver allowing statements from plea discussions to be used for impeachment. The prosecutor later seeks to introduce those statements after inconsistent testimony. The court admits the evidence because the waiver of the plaidoyer protections was valid.
It denotes an advocate's plea presented in court.
No. Federal evidence rules bar admission of a withdrawn guilty plea or related plea discussions against the defendant who made them.
A conviction exists once the court accepts the plea and enters a judgment that has not been reversed or vacated.
The client alone decides whether to enter a plea after consulting with counsel.
The court must enter a plea of not guilty on the defendant's behalf.
Yes. A defendant may voluntarily and knowingly waive the protections of Rule 410 to allow impeachment use of statements made during plea negotiations.
…any case whatever; and (3) whether in the present case the court may award a mandamus to James Madison, Secretary of State. The argument upon the first question was derived from the principles and practice of England and the Constitution and laws of the United States. As the supreme court and by reason of its supremacy it…