Cerritos v. United States
In brief
The Supreme Court refused to hear Cerritos's case, leaving the Fourth Circuit's ruling in place without deciding the legal question.
- Where it stands
- Decided
Decided · May 4, 2020
- What it’s about
- The Supreme Court denied review of Cerritos’s challenge to the Fourth Circuit’s use of plain-error review for a jury-instruction omission that became legally significant only after his trial.
- Who it affects
- The Fourth Circuit's ruling remained in place for Cerritos, but the Supreme Court did not decide whether using plain-error review was correct.
Summary: written with AI from the case record.
What it's about
The Fourth Circuit’s ruling therefore remained in place, and the United States prevailed.
The dispute arose because the Supreme Court had not established the required offense element until after Cerritos's trial.
Question presented
Whether the court of appeals erred in holding that a defendant’s failure to object to the omission of an element of an offense from a jury instruction is subject to plain-error review under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 52(b) even if the element was not established by the Supreme Court until after the defendant’s trial?
What the Court decided
Holding
Petition DENIED.
What's next
This Supreme Court docket action is finished. The Fourth Circuit's ruling remains in place in Cerritos's case, and the Supreme Court's order gives no answer to the plain-error question.
Documents
Opinions
Key filings
Docket activity
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Sources
Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.