7 canonical passages across 7 cases, quoted by 23 opinions in total. These passages cluster together because the same opinions keep quoting them side by side — they state parts of one doctrine. The anchor passage is from National Aeronautics & Space Administration v. Nelson.
| # | Case | Flag | Canonical passage | Citers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Aeronautics & Space Administration v. Nelson Anchor | green | “it is undesirable for us to decide a matter of this importance in a case in which we do not have the benefit of briefing by the parties . . . .” | 4 |
| 2 | V.C.B. v. United States | green | “it is incumbent upon us, in this case as in any other, to eschew appellate fact-finding and to avoid usurping the function of the trial court.” | 4 |
| 3 | United States v. Jones | green | “a traditional hallmark of a police-citizen consensual encounter: the seemingly routine approach of the police officer” | 3 |
| 4 | In Re DAJ | green | “we have consistently declined to rule on issues never addressed by the trial court.” | 3 |
| 5 | United States v. Adams | green | “this prudential approach makes eminently good sense: . . . discretion is often the better part of valor, and courts should not rush to decide unsettled legal issues that can easily be avoided.” | 3 |
| 6 | Jamel Evans v. United States | green | “t is not our function to decide issues of fact.” | 3 |
| 7 | Gamble v. United States | green | “the practice of avoiding constitutional issues if it is reasonably possible to do so is predicated on a fundamental rule of judicial restraint, which is perhaps more deeply rooted than any other doctrine of constitutional adjudication.” | 3 |
A red or yellow flag on a member means the underlying case has negative treatment — for those, check the case page before relying on the passage.