Out-of-the-Box Lawyering

The SODDI defense – You do know the SODDI defense, don't you?

In case you haven't heard of it, the SODDI (pronounced sahd-ee) defense is defined in Black's Law Dictionary, 7th edition. Black's defines it as "slang. The some-other-dude-did-it defense; a claim that somebody else committed a crime, [usually] made by a criminal defendant who cannot identify the third party."

Both plaintiffs and defendants in a civil case might, in an appropriate case, sarcastically argue that the other side is using a SODDI defense. This may be an out-of-the-box solution, but there are questions as to exacly when it might be used without alienating the trier of fact. It's sort of like in science – sometimes scientists make discoveries and only later find ways to apply them.

Please let me know if you ever use it or have it used against you.