Update on Pleaded or Pled (10/30/14)

I previously blogged on the choice of pleaded or pled as the past tense of the verb plead.  Is it Pled or Pleaded? (Federal Tax Crimes Blog 1/18/13), here.  Today, I received a daily email from a site called Daily Writing Tips, here.  Today's serving was on "Pleaded vs. Pled."  As I noted in my earlier blog entry, I usually use pled rather than pleaded.  But the choice is a matter of debate among English aficionados and others with anal retention proclivities.  So, I thought I would provide readers some more links that address the issue.  The bottom-line, I take it, is that either usage is correct, at least in the ultimate test of the English language -- common usage and understanding.  Hey, some people insist that it is wrong to split infinitives.  See Wikipedia, here (citing as an example of the dreaded split infinitive, the following from Star Trek: "to boldly go where no man has gone before").

• Daily Writing Tips, Pleaded v. Pled, here.
• Staci Zaretsky, Grammar Pole of the Week: Pleaded v. Pled (Above the Law 12/16/11), here.
• Debra Cassens Weiss, Law Prof Enters the Great Debate: Is It ‘Pleaded’ or ‘Pled’? (ABA Journal 11/22/10), here, with links in the blog entry to Eugene Volokh's discussions.
• Natalie West, When Choosing Pleaded or Pled, Grammar Pitted Against Popular Usage (The Docket July/August 2013), here.

So, I previously pled guilty to using "pled" rather than "pleaded in my writing."  I expect to  be a repeat offender, if offense it be (can't teach an old dog new tricks).

Is it Pled or Pleaded? (1/18/13)

I have not dealt previously with some of the finer points of the English language.  However, I do today after reading an ABA Journal Law News Now blog on the topic "Is it 'pleaded' or 'pled'?, here  (Actually, I am not sure that this is one of the finer points; notice also that I reversed the order in the topic of this blog, signaling my preferred usage.)  This brief ABA article links to a longer one at Daily Report:  John Chandler and Brian Boone, War of the Words: pleaded vs. pled (Daily Report 1/15/13), here.

Readers who are interested in the question have probably noticed that I usually use "pled" in this blog.  It sounds right to me.

The article by Messrs. Chandler and Boone is helpful:

Mr. Chandler's view (said to be minority) (footnotes omitted):

Use "pled." Boone needs to get out more—"pleaded" may seem fine on paper, but lawyers chuck the word when they head to court. A lawyer arguing a motion to dismiss doesn't say, "They haven't pleaded scienter." He says, "They haven't pled scienter." 

* * * * 

Twice, legal tabloid/blog Above the Law has asked its readers which they prefer—"pleaded" or "pled." Twice, strong majorities chose "pled." Check Westlaw or Lexis, and you'll find that judges use "pled" more often than "pleaded." 

* * * * 

Boone can wield a pen, but on this one, he's stuck in the past. Use "pled."

Mr. Boone's view (said to be majority)