Nuremberg defense
n.— «“I was only following orders.” It’s perhaps the most infamous explanation offered by military members accused of crimes, invoked by defendants from Nazi Germany to Abu Ghraib. Now, the so-called Nuremberg defense is surfacing in federal court in Tucson in the cases of cocaine-running troops.» —“ Drug case defense: Just ‘following orders’” by Carol Ann Alaimo Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, Arizona) July 23, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)