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My Lai massacre

The My Lai massacre was a paradigmatic example of executing orders to kill civilians producing individual criminal responsibility.

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2 results
Feb 5, 2026

What precedent cases interpret illegal orders and obedience in U.S. military law?

military law draws a line between disciplined obedience and criminal responsibility: longstanding Anglo‑American precedent and modern Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) doctrine require serviceme...

Jan 15, 2026

What precedent do courts-martial cite when rejecting the “just following orders” defense in war‑crimes cases?

The canonical rejection of the “just following orders” defense traces to early modern precedents and was crystallized at Nuremberg after World War II, a lineage courts‑martial in the United States now...