Proving a different point than the actual issue is the fallacy of irrelevance

Evidence

The majority attempts to disprove point B (legislative history of enforcement of franking laws), instead of disproving point A (Postal Service enforcement), which is the real issue at stake. Logicians call this technique the fallacy of irrelevance, ignoratio elenchi. — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1012

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1012
• XREF: connects to: Factual propositions cannot be sustained merely by citing negative evidence — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 902; Logicians and lawyers use fallacy to mean incorrect argument. — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 771; An informal fallacy fails because its premises are untrue or rules are violated — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 774 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Inferring causation merely from temporal sequence is the post hoc fallacy. #exemplifies (0.75) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1131
• Appeals to pity are fallacies only when they are irrelevant to the decision type #expands (0.60) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1038
• Appeals to inflammatory hypotheticals constitute the argumentum ad populum fallacy #exemplifies (0.55) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1062