In People v. Anderson, 389 Ill. App. 3d 1, 904 N.E.2d 1113, 328 Ill. Dec. 603 (2009), the court held that the trial court had committed plain error by failing to comply with Rule 431(b). In that case, the trial court informed the first panel of prospective jurors of only three of the four principles enumerated in Rule 431(b). In addition, the trial court failed to specifically ask these prospective jurors whether they understood and would comply with those principles. Instead, the trial court asked whether the jurors could find the defendant guilty if the State met its burden of proof, and, conversely, whether the jurors could find the defendant not guilty if the State failed to meet its burden. The court considered the language of the rule and found that language to impose a mandatory duty upon the trial courts to inform potential jurors of the rule's principles and ascertain whether those jurors understood and accepted those principles. The court concluded that the trial court's failure to strictly comply with the requirements of Rule 431(b) rendered the defendant's trial fundamentally unfair and, thus, reversed his conviction.