Any pleading to be filed in any court may be sworn to before the clerk or any officer authorized to administer oath thereof. Four copies of the petition, responsive pleading, memoranda of law, reply of the petitioner, and motions shall be filed in the office of the clerk of this.An Alford plea allows you to insist you are innocent on the record in court. A pleading that states a claim for relief must contain: (1) a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court's jurisdiction. It's a filing, called a pleading, that tells the court that all is not well between two parties. In Virginia, a defendant can file a "plea in bar" if a single issue or state of facts creates a bar to the plaintiff's recovery. Identify the legal claims or defenses: Before drafting your pleading, you need to identify the legal claims or defenses that you want to make. Such pleas are no longer permitted. Rather, the rule simply saves a party from having to reintroduce any exhibit already in a pleading. One final word about exhibits.