You searched for: “mitigating circumstances
extenuating circumstances, extrordinary circumstances, mitigating circumstances
To render a crime less aggravated, heinous, or reprehensible than it would otherwise be, or to tend to palliate or to lessen its guilt.

Such circumstances may ordinarily be shown in order to reduce a punishment or damages. In contract law, unusual or extraordinary events that prevent performance within a specified time; for example, a delay resulting from a strike by workers or suppliers.