{"data":{"id":"us-ca/ccp-461","jurisdiction":"us-ca","citation":"CCP § 461","heading":"","body":"In any action within Section 460 or 460.5, the defendant may, in his answer, allege both the truth of the matter charged as defamatory, and any mitigating circumstances, to reduce the amount of damages. Whether he proves the justification or not, he may give in evidence the mitigating circumstances.","path":["Code of Civil Procedure - CCP","PART 2. OF CIVIL ACTIONS [307. - 1062.34.]","TITLE 6. OF THE PLEADINGS IN CIVIL ACTIONS [420. - 475.]","CHAPTER 7. General Rules of Pleading [452. - 465.]"],"source_url":"https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zip","current_through":"2026-09-13","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T05:56:33Z","sha256":"ae205c72d955965a2d636cff0323b33125bd17948adbcfca6bb54791cd7b6d40","source_id":"us-ca","stale":false,"prev":"us-ca/ccp-460.7","next":"us-ca/ccp-464"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}