10 canonical passages across 7 cases, quoted by 361 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 Pierce v. Underwood.
| # | Case | Flag | Canonical passage | Citers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pierce v. Underwood Anchor | green | “justified to a degree that could satisfy a reasonable person.” | 261 |
| 2 | Commissioner, Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Jean | green | “special circumstances make an award unjust” | 35 |
| 3 | Morgan v. Perry | green | “(1) a reasonable basis in truth for the facts alleged; (2) a reasonable basis in law for the theory it propounded; and (3) a reasonable connection between the facts alleged and the legal theory advanced.” | 18 |
| 4 | Jeffrey Meier v. Carolyn W. Colvin | green | “put differently, the government's position must have a 'reasonable basis both in law and fact.” | 12 |
| 5 | Morgan v. Perry | green | “a court cannot assume that the government's position was not substantially justified simply because the government lost on the merits.” | 9 |
| 6 | Jeffrey Meier v. Carolyn W. Colvin | green | “it is the government's burden to show that its position was substantially justified.” | 8 |
| 7 | Morgan v. Perry | green | “not only the position taken in the litigation but the agency position that made the litigation necessary in the first place.” | 6 |
| 8 | Lee v. Johnson | green | “therefore, for the government, in relying entirely upon a legal argument, to establish that its position was substantially justified, it must demonstrate that that argument presented an unsettled or close question of law.” | 5 |
| 9 | TAYLOR, Catherine D., Appellant, v. Margaret M. HECKLER, Secretary of Health and Human Services | green | “the government is deemed to have two positions for eaja purposes, both of which must be substantially justified.... if either government position does not bear scrutiny, the prevailing party should be awarded attorneys' fees and other reasonable fees and expenses.” | 4 |
| 10 | Vacchio v. Ashcroft | green | “this issue was far from settled law” | 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.