While the term remains most commonly associated with the R. Kelly trial , it has been subsequently used to describe any case where the defendant simply denies guilt in the face of overwhelming evidence . For example , in the 2010 Virginia court case '' Preston v. Morton '' , in which an allegation against a driver accused of striking a man with a tractor trailer while he was installing traffic lights was refuted by the defendant claiming that he was not the one driving the truck in question , U.S. District Judge Jackson Kiser specifically cited the alleged driver as using the Shaggy defense in his written judgement . Writing about the case , Josh Levin noted the endurance of the term he coined : " The Shaggy defense , like the jury system and the principle of habeas corpus , is one of the pillars underpinning American jurisprudence . " Additionally in 2010 , Chris Hayes accused BP of using the Shaggy defense over their refusal to accept responsibility for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Shaggy defense