4 canonical passages across 4 cases, quoted by 13 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 St. Clair v. Commonwealth.
| # | Case | Flag | Canonical passage | Citers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Clair v. Commonwealth Anchor | green | “the use of the definite article, the word 'the,' signals a specific thing.” | 4 |
| 2 | Maupin v. Sidiropolis | green | “typically, though, 'an' is construed as making general, rather than specific, references to its words of modification.” | 3 |
| 3 | New Iberia Firefighters Ass'n, Local 775 v. City of New Iberia | green | “the' is a definite article, which refers to a specific person, place, or thing; whereas 'a' or 'an' are indefinite articles, which refer to people, places, or things in a general or nonspecific manner.” | 3 |
| 4 | In re AJR | green | “if the legislature wants to refer to something particular, not general, it uses the word 'the,' rather than 'a' or 'an.” | 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.