A legal plea is a formal statement made by a defendant in a criminal case that outlines their defense. The most common legal pleas are 'not GUILTY, ' 'GUILTY, ' and 'no contest.' Other less common legal pleas include ALIBI, which is an assertion that the defendant was somewhere else at the time of the crime; alibw, which is an assertion that the defendant was not aware of the crime; and demurrer, which is a legal motion to dismiss a case due to a lack of evidence or legal basis.