7 canonical passages across 6 cases, quoted by 44 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 Ocie Mills Carey C. Mills v. United States.
| # | Case | Flag | Canonical passage | Citers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ocie Mills Carey C. Mills v. United States Anchor | green | “a ground of error is usually 'available' on direct appeal when its merits can be reviewed without further factual development.” | 11 |
| 2 | United States v. Judy Weaver | green | “to establish the waiver's validity, the government must show either that (1) the district court specifically questioned the defendant about the provision during the plea colloquy, or (2) it is manifestly clear from the record that the defendant fully understood the significance …” | 7 |
| 3 | United States v. Brown | green | “if a defendant has such an incomplete understanding of the charge that his plea cannot stand as an intelligent admission of guilt.” | 6 |
| 4 | United States v. Francisco Montano | green | “generally, if a challenge to a conviction or sentence is not made on direct appeal, it will be procedurally barred in a 2255 challenge.” | 6 |
| 5 | Ocie Mills Carey C. Mills v. United States | green | “an extraordinary case, where a constitutional violation has probably resulted in the conviction of one who is actually innocent.” | 5 |
| 6 | Meier Jason Brown v. United States | green | “a significantly higher hurdle than would exist on direct appeal.” | 5 |
| 7 | Varnall Weeks v. Ronald E. Jones, Commissioner of Corrections | green | “a claim is not novel when counsel made a conscious choice not to pursue the claim on direct appeal because of perceived futility, or when the building blocks of the claim were available to counsel.” | 4 |
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.