The next time you need to refer to "The Nuremberg Defense"...

[displacedtexan]

Nuremberg defense: n.:

* a legal ploy that was invalidated in the American legal system from the Truman administration until the Nixon administration.
The validation was repeated during the Reagan administration.
* "I was only following orders."


"I was only following orders" was so frequently used in the Nazi war crimes trials at Nuremberg after World War II, that it became known as the "Nuremberg defense." It was not considered acceptable as a defense against accusations of atrocity, and many of the men who attempted to use it were executed.

Rephrased only slightly, to "he was only following orders," it was used to excuse officers from charges of mass murder and other crimes, even after they had been convicted in military court. Later, it was used to excuse men who had committed crimes that would have been considered treasonous, if they had not been members of the administration granting the immunity.

http://www.pygalgics.com/N/nuremberg_defense.html

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. The Nuremberg defense always makes me think of the movie

"A Few Good Men".