6 canonical passages across 4 cases, quoted by 42 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 Hines v. Commonwealth.
| # | Case | Flag | Canonical passage | Citers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hines v. Commonwealth Anchor | green | “whether the danger is reasonably apparent is judged from the viewpoint of the defendant at the time of the incident.” | 12 |
| 2 | Smith v. Commonwealth | green | “any form of conduct by the accused from which the fact finder may reasonably infer that the accused contributed to the affray constitutes 'fault.” | 10 |
| 3 | Hines v. Commonwealth | green | “the defendant must also show that he was in imminent danger of harm, that is, a showing of an overt act or other circumstance that affords an immediate threat to safety.” | 6 |
| 4 | Commonwealth v. Sands | green | “in the context of a self-defense plea, 'imminent danger' is defined as 'an immediate, real threat to one's safety . . . .” | 5 |
| 5 | Hines v. Commonwealth | green | “to establish a claim of self-defense, a defendant must show that he reasonably feared death or serious bodily harm at the hands of his victim.” | 5 |
| 6 | Carlos Matthew Bell v. Commonwealth of Virginia | green | “from a reasonably apparent necessity to preserve his own life or save himself from great bodily harm.” | 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.