A criminal pretrial conference informs the trial judge of the status of the case and resolves outstanding pretrial issues
In most jurisdictions, pretrial conferences are held in anticipation of an upcoming trial. There will likely be several pretrial conferences as your case as it moves through the criminal court system toward trial. Depending on the state, pretrial conferences are sometimes referred to as further proceedings or readiness conferences.
One of the benefits of the pretrial conference is that it gives the lawyer and prosecutor the chance to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their respective cases. Defense counsel will also discuss the state of discovery and what evidence still needs to be produced by the prosecutor. As well as what new pretrial motions will need to be made on both sides.
The court is then appraised as to the status of the case, the presence of outstanding matters, and issues that may need resolution by the court. Finally, the court provides direction and readies the case as it moves toward trial.
