[Dick Holmes]

Perhaps my memory is faulty, but until recently wasn't 'pled' the proper term to use for the past tense of 'plead' (at least in news articles?) 'Pleaded' sounds so awkward and I don't recall hearing or reading it until the last few years.

Either is correct. The word traces back to Old English, but ultimately has a Latin root through Old French.

Pleaded was actually the standard form a century ago; pled was deemed colloquial. Grammarians were more arbitrary and judgmental back then...

[Diddle E. Squat]

Thanks for the explanation and link.