8 canonical passages across 6 cases, quoted by 58 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 Commonwealth v. Demarco.
| # | Case | Flag | Canonical passage | Citers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Commonwealth v. Demarco Anchor | green | “where a defendant requests a jury instruction on a defense, the trial court may not refuse to instruct the jury regarding the defense if it is supported by evidence in the record.” | 10 |
| 2 | Commonwealth v. Browdie | green | “we hold that a trial court shall only instruct on an offense where the offense has been made an issue in the case and where the trial evidence reasonably would support such a verdict.” | 9 |
| 3 | Commonwealth v. Patton | green | “instructions regarding matters which are not before the court or which are not supported by the evidence serve no purpose other than to confuse the jury.” | 9 |
| 4 | Commonwealth v. Browdie | green | “a trial court shall only instruct on an offense where the offense has been made an issue in the case and where the trial evidence reasonably would support such a verdict.” | 7 |
| 5 | Commonwealth v. Taylor | green | “instructing the jury on legal principles that cannot rationally be applied to the facts presented at trial may confuse them and place obstacles in the path of a just verdict.” | 7 |
| 6 | Commonwealth v. White | green | “establish that the trial evidence would 'reasonably support' a verdict based on the desired charge and may not claim entitlement to an instruction that has no basis in the evidence presented during trial.” | 7 |
| 7 | Commonwealth v. Markman | green | “we hold that a trial court shall only instruct on an offense where the offense has been made an issue in the case and where the trial evidence reasonably would support such a verdict.” | 6 |
| 8 | Commonwealth v. Demarco | green | “our standard of review when considering the denial of jury instructions is one of deference -- an appellate court will reverse a court's decision only when it abused its discretion or committed an error of 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.