3 canonical passages across 3 cases, quoted by 12 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 Humphrey v. Commonwealth.
| # | Case | Flag | Canonical passage | Citers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Humphrey v. Commonwealth Anchor | green | “(1) a reasonable belief that the action was necessary to avoid an imminent threatened harm; (2) a lack of other adequate means to avoid the threatened harm; and (3) a direct causal relationship that may be reasonably anticipated between the action taken and the avoidance of the …” | 5 |
| 2 | Lilly v. Commonwealth | green | “waited until after sentence had been imposed to move to withdraw his guilty plea,” | 4 |
| 3 | McCullough v. McCullough | green | “the law of self-defense is the law of necessity, and the necessity relied upon must not arise out of defendant's own misconduct. accordingly, a defendant must reasonably fear death or serious bodily harm to himself at the hands of his victim.” | 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.