4 canonical passages across 4 cases, quoted by 53 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. Flanagan.
| # | Case | Flag | Canonical passage | Citers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Commonwealth v. Flanagan Anchor | green | “in determining whether a guilty plea was entered knowingly and voluntarily, ... a court is free to consider the totality of the circumstances surrounding the plea.” | 19 |
| 2 | Commonwealth v. Stork | green | “once a defendant has entered a plea of guilty, it is presumed that he was aware of what he was doing, and the burden of proving involuntariness is upon him.” | 15 |
| 3 | Commonwealth v. Lewis | green | “the guilty plea colloquy must affirmatively demonstrate that the defendant understood what the plea connoted and its consequences.” | 12 |
| 4 | Commonwealth v. Kelly | green | “a defendant is bound by the statements he makes during his plea colloquy, and may not assert grounds for withdrawing the plea that contradict statements made when he pled.” | 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.