Opinion ID: 160816
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The District Court’s Statement

Text: The district court was forced to delay the start of Defendant’s trial because defense counsel was at another hearing in the same courthouse, and that hearing had run late. When defense counsel finally arrived, the district court stated: All right, the jurors are all present. Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize to you, I had no idea that hearing would last that long and I almost sent the U.S. Marshals to drag the attorney out, but I – I am disappointed. All right, I think we’re ready to proceed. You may call your first witness. R. Vol. III at 3. Defendant contends that this statement irreparably denigrated his counsel in the eyes of the jury and made it impossible for him to obtain a fair trial. Counsel, however, made no objection at the time. Before we can correct an error not raised at trial, we must be satisfied that there was a plain error that affected Defendant’s substantial rights. Johnson v. United States, 520 U.S. 461, 466-67 (1997). For an error to impact Defendant’s substantial rights, “[i]t must have affected the outcome of the district court proceedings.” United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 734 (1993). After reviewing the statement, we conclude that it does not even begin to approach the plain error threshold, or, for that matter, error under any other standard of review. -9-