4 canonical passages across 3 cases, quoted by 290 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 Rita v. United States.
| # | Case | Flag | Canonical passage | Citers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rita v. United States Anchor | green | “the sentencing judge should set forth enough to satisfy the appellate court that he has considered the parties' arguments and has a reasoned basis for exercising his own legal decisionmaking authority.” | 134 |
| 2 | Sells v. United States | green | “the sentencing judge should set forth enough to satisfy the appellate court that he has considered the parties' arguments and has a reasoned basis for exercising his own legal decisionmaking authority.” | 65 |
| 3 | Walton v. Arizona | red | “trial judges are presumed to know the law and to apply it in making their decisions.” | 52 |
| 4 | Rita v. United States | green | “the appropriateness of brevity or length, conciseness or detail, when to write, what to say, depends upon circumstances.” | 39 |
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.