Plain error

Plain error is a standard of review in Courts of Appeals that has four prongs, all of which must be satisfied:

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(1) "there must be an error or defect ... that has not been intentionally relinquished or abandoned"; (2) "the legal error must be clear or obvious, rather than subject to reasonable dispute"; (3) "the error must have affected the appellant's substantial rights"; and (4) "if the above three prongs are satisfied, the court of appeals has the discretion to remedy the error - discretion which ought to be exercised only if the error seriously affect[s] the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings." Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129, 135, 129 S. Ct. 1423, 173 L. Ed. 2d 266 (2009) (citations and internal quotations omitted) (alterations and emphasis in original).

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United States v. Sanches, 86 F.4th 680, 685 (5th Cir. 2023).