General Discussion

JMCKUSICK

(5,143 posts) Mon Jan 5, 2026, 12:48 PM Monday

I have a silly technical question

Why is it that when a newspaper article reports that Maduro "Pleaded" not guilty, and since it is reporting an event that has already transpired,
Why don't they just say he Pled guilty?
I just want to understand why they never use pled?

14 replies

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Highlight:

I have a silly technical question (Original Post) JMCKUSICK Monday OP

Because pleaded is the correct term SheltieLover Monday #1

Both are correct English. highplainsdem Monday #2

Yes, but pleaded is the more formal use, as in legal writing SheltieLover Monday #3

Merriam-Webster: highplainsdem Monday #6

Thank you Highplainsdem JMCKUSICK Monday #8

What a silly technical question. Xavier Breath Monday #4

lol JMCKUSICK Monday #5

Pleaded is the more formal term, and as it comes up mostly in formal contexts, that's the term that gets used most. unblock Monday #7

From the American Bar Association: highplainsdem Monday #9

Yeah, pled isn't wrong, it's just not used as often in appeals and such. unblock Monday #10

I think it's an Americanism canetoad Monday #11

As others have noted - it's legal jargon. Grammatically both are correct. Ms. Toad Monday #12

Lol JMCKUSICK Monday #13

The Associated Press stylebook calls for "pleaded" as the preferred term jmowreader Monday #14

SheltieLover

(76,862 posts)

1. Because pleaded is the correct term

Reply to JMCKUSICK (Original post)

Mon Jan 5, 2026, 12:49 PM

Monday

From what I've found.

highplainsdem

(60,043 posts)

2. Both are correct English.

Reply to SheltieLover (Reply #1)

Mon Jan 5, 2026, 12:51 PM

Monday

SheltieLover

(76,862 posts)

3. Yes, but pleaded is the more formal use, as in legal writing

Reply to highplainsdem (Reply #2)

Mon Jan 5, 2026, 12:55 PM

Monday

highplainsdem

(60,043 posts)

6. Merriam-Webster:

Reply to SheltieLover (Reply #3)

Mon Jan 5, 2026, 12:59 PM

Monday

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plead

Pleaded vs. Pled

Plead belongs to the same class of verbs as bleed, lead, and feed, and like them it has a past and past participle with a short vowel spelled pled (or sometimes plead, which is pronounced alike). From the beginning, pled has faced competition from the regular form pleaded, which eventually came to predominate in mainstream British English. Pled was and is used in Scottish English, which is likely how it came to American English. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, pled was attacked by many American usage commentators (perhaps because it was not in good British use). Though still sometimes criticized, it is fully respectable today and both pled (or plead) and pleaded are in good use in the U.S. In legal use (such as “pleaded guilty,” “pled guilty”), both forms are standard, though pleaded is used with greater frequency. In nonlegal use (such as “pleaded for help”), pleaded appears more commonly, though pled is also considered standard.

JMCKUSICK

(5,143 posts)

8. Thank you Highplainsdem

Reply to highplainsdem (Reply #6)

Mon Jan 5, 2026, 01:03 PM

Monday

Xavier Breath

(6,477 posts)

4. What a silly technical question.

Reply to JMCKUSICK (Original post)

Mon Jan 5, 2026, 12:55 PM

Monday

Oh wait--you already said that

JMCKUSICK

(5,143 posts)

5. lol

Reply to Xavier Breath (Reply #4)

Mon Jan 5, 2026, 12:58 PM

Monday

unblock

(55,929 posts)

7. Pleaded is the more formal term, and as it comes up mostly in formal contexts, that's the term that gets used most.

Reply to JMCKUSICK (Original post)

Mon Jan 5, 2026, 01:01 PM

Monday

In court, or in court filings, it would always be "pleaded" is those are formal settings.

A reporter who gets the story is likely to hear a lawyer explain that the accused "pleaded" one way or another, and so is likely to just stick with that term when reporting. Reporting is less formal, so I suppose they could switch it to pled, but usually they just stick with the term they heard.

highplainsdem

(60,043 posts)

9. From the American Bar Association:

Reply to unblock (Reply #7)

Mon Jan 5, 2026, 01:28 PM

Monday

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/how_courts_work/pretrial_appearances/

Assuming the defendant has pled not guilty, the judge or magistrate sets the amount of bail .

NYCourts.gov, https://nycourts.gov/courts/6jd/Broome/criminalprocessing.shtml

When the defendant has pled not guilty at arraignment

I just googled "pled not guilty" and immediately found that usage of pled on both legal sites (including military law) and media sites, as well as in a book title.

Either past-tense form is fine.

unblock

(55,929 posts)

10. Yeah, pled isn't wrong, it's just not used as often in appeals and such.

Reply to highplainsdem (Reply #9)

Mon Jan 5, 2026, 01:46 PM

Monday

I think pled is more natural these days and pleaded sounds stuffy. Pled may well win out over time, but we're not there yet.

The legal profession likes their stuffy terms....