plaidoyer

OBS: plaidoyer : terme parfois employé en procédure civile, pour désigner l'acte de procédure produit par le défendeur.

CONT: In legal terminology, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a civil or criminal case under common law using the adversary system. Collequially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a criminal defendant, at arraignment or otherwise in response to a criminal charge, whether he is guilty or not guilty.
CONT: pleading: A formal statement, generally written, propounding the cause of action or the defense in a case.