Appeals to pity are fallacies only when they are irrelevant to the decision type

Evidence

The acceptability of the argumentum ad misericordiam in equity and criminal sentencing is explained by the nature of the decisions to be reached in those contexts. Both equity cases and discretionary sentencing decisions involve attempts to do justice and are thus different in nature from questions of fact or law. Doing justice requires looking at hardships that already exist and deciding whether imposing a penalty or a remedy would cause a greater hardship in a particular case than normally accompanies that sentence or remedy. In such cases, an argumentum ad misericordiam is not a fallacy because it is actually relevant to the decision. — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1038

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies when the argumentum ad misericordiam fallacy actually applies versus when pity is legitimately relevant.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1038
• XREF: connects to: A fallacy is an argument that seems valid but fails logic — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 776; Proving a different point than the actual issue is the fallacy of irrelevance — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1012; Appeals to pity are fallacious when the question is purely factual — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1039 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Appeals to pity are fallacious when the question is purely factual #expands (0.85) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1039
• Presumption of innocence is a legitimate appeal to ignorance enshrined in law #exemplifies (0.60) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1080
• Logical form and avoiding fallacies remain critical tools of persuasion #qualifies (0.50) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 146