11 canonical passages across 7 cases, quoted by 202 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 James F. Shaw v. United States.
| # | Case | Flag | Canonical passage | Citers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James F. Shaw v. United States Anchor | green | “unless the motion and the files and records of the case conclusively show that the prisoner is entitled to no relief.” | 40 |
| 2 | United States v. Darwin G. Rice | green | “strategic choices made after thorough investigation of law and facts relevant to plausible options are virtually unchallengeable.” | 28 |
| 3 | James F. Shaw v. United States | green | “without an evidentiary hearing if the claim is inadequate on its face or if the record affirmatively refutes the factual assertions upon which it is based.” | 26 |
| 4 | James F. Shaw v. United States | green | “if the claim is inadequate on its face or if the record affirmatively refutes the factual assertions upon which it is based.” | 22 |
| 5 | John Alvin Payne v. United States | green | “when the facts alleged, if true, would entitle the petitioner to relief.” | 22 |
| 6 | United States v. James L. Mooring | green | “if the error is jurisdictional, the error may be raised on collateral review without being subjected to procedural default analysis.” | 14 |
| 7 | United States v. Darwin G. Rice | green | “strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance.” | 14 |
| 8 | United States v. Stacey L. Gomez | green | “the sentence was imposed in violation of the constitution or laws of the united states, or that the court was without jurisdiction to impose such sentence, or that the sentence was in excess of the maximum authorized by law, or is otherwise subject to collateral attack, may move…” | 13 |
| 9 | Robert J. Anderson v. United States | green | “cause and prejudice exception does not apply to nonconstitutional or nonjurisdictional claims that could have been but were not raised on direct appeal.” | 8 |
| 10 | United States v. Stacey L. Gomez | green | “that the sentence was imposed in violation of the constitution or laws of the united states, or that the court was without jurisdiction to impose such sentence, or that the sentence was in excess of the maximum authorized by law, or is otherwise subject to collateral attack, may…” | 8 |
| 11 | United States of America v. Pedro Sera | green | “below an objective standard of reasonableness.” | 7 |
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.