extenuating circumstance
noun1
Law In plural Any fact that mitigates or lessens a crime.
Or general usage
- In the instant case, testimony has been offered that there were extenuating circumstances which might have made it impossible for the Hospital to comply with the time limit (Union office closed on April 4, 1974, for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day March).1976, Harry N. Casselman, “Case No. 7”, in Earl R. Baderschneider, Paul F. Miller, editors, Labor Arbitration in Health Care: A Case Book, New York: Spectrum Publications, Inc., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 44:
- Related terms
- mitigation