Pretrial Conference Services, Questions, Answers and News.

A meeting of all parties and counsel with the trial judge, sometimes held in the judge?s chambers. Most states require these pretrial conferences. Counsel prepare a ?pretrial memoranda? for the court, and the judge asks pointed questions. Most cases settle during this conference since the parties hear, for the first time, how a real-life judge would decide the case. A judge?s general impressions and settlement recommendations carry great weight, especially when the pretrial judge will also try the case. Parties are often surprised by how close they are to settling. Often the only thing keeping them apart is their attorneys? failure to communicate with their clients and with each other. Some lawyers never really understand their own cases until a judge, with 5-10 minutes of preparation, explains it to them. They are highly focused on a few trees when the forest is on fire. Lawyers? lack of communication and their zealous but unrealistic advocacy waste tens of millions of dollars annually.

Question: Attention lawyers and others: What is a pretrial conference? I am going to court in Wisconsin for my first OWI offense and I have heard I can ask for (sign up for when I get there) a pretrial conference when i arrive in court in order to try to get my BAC refusal removed. How does this process work and what can I expect? Any advice or knowledge at all would be very helpful I have no attorney In wisconsin it is a civil offense and not a criminal offense

Answer: It is kind of making a plea-bargain - it is called indirect blackmail by prosecuting attorney's office to cut a deal or else ! Good luck. You attorney should know better depending what you are going to Court/Trial for.

Question: In a criminal case, what are the chance of being sentenced at the PreTrial Conference? What happens at a pretrial conference? Can they sentence you or is that not what [this] court hearing is for? This hearing is about an 18 yr old boy who is being charged with one count of running from the cops and one count of aggravated assualt in which this count he is not guilty for. He was released on bond for 5,000, got a job, is back completing high school, and taking care of a newborn baby. No smart @$$ answers PLEASE!

Answer: Nobody gets sentenced at a pre-trial because it doesn't take place in Court.

Question: Is a pretrial conference open to the public? My son is 18, a fulltime highschool student and lives at home with me. He is accused of doemstic abuse by his step father and his new girlfriend. We are confident this will be turned around during the trial. My son very much wants me with him during these pretrial conferences and trial. His step father and girlfriend are very intimidating to him and he's very frightened. The girlfriend belongs to the step father. He has a Public Defender but the step fathers and step fathers new girlfriend try to intimidate him. The girl friend has also gone as far as to request I not be allowed to accompany my son.

Answer: He needs an attorney. Usually, while he has to be there, the pretrial conferences are attended by the attorneys. I don't see why you couldn't wait in the courtroom with him. I'm surprised this isn't being sent over to some kind of mediation. Is it your son's girlfriend or his step father's girlfriend?

Question: must a defendant appear at pretrial conference? Ok so I just found out today that I have a pretrial conference tomorrow in the lancaster co court house pennsylvania, i can not get a hold of my attorney. I did not get any paperwork on this. Yes I am fighting the charges. I found out by looking on our county website and that's how I found out. My question is do I need to attend, or is this just involving my attorney?

Answer: If your attorney didn't tell you to attend, you probably don't need to be there. If you do need to be there, you can blame it on your attorney for not showing up. Pre-trial conferences are usually to go over procedural and evidentiary matters--so the parties themselves don't normally need to be present.

Question: Do I have to be at the pretrial conference? I got a DWI a few days ago and I had my first appearance in court today. The judge told me my lawyer would have to send them a letter of representation by next week and would have to be there for a pretrial conference on the 29th. I'm not sure if I have to be there as well. I know my lawyer does.

Answer: Ask your lawyer. Usually yes

Question: What happens during a flagrant non-support pretrial conference? My exhusband has been arraigned twice for flagrant non-support and at the last one they set a pretrial conference. I am planning to go and was wanted to ask someone what will happen and what can I expect? I spoke with the county attorney and I was told I should be there but they didn't say if I would be asked anything or not. My exhusband hasn't paid anything even with him going back and forth to court and is now close to oweing $12,000.00. Hope someone can answer this but I would very much like to know what will happen at his next court appearance. Thanks in advance I live in KY. On the court docket it says Commonwealth vs my ex I wasn't subpoenaed but was told I could be there if I wanted to I started this action back in Dec 05 on one occasion there was a warrant issued but they said something got mixed up and he was never taken to jail he was allowed to sit in the court house until his father could post a property bond which was supposed to be a cash bond. I have every expense typed up that I have paid for my boys I have also forward all of this to the county attorney I just feel that by now they should have done something more than just setting court dates and then doing nothing I heard that it was slow to get something done but never dreamed it would be like this I can't get it moved to where i live at because my ex still lives in the same town we got our divorce actually he is 38 living with his parents making a very good living but they can't garnish because they belive he is getting paid in cash.

Answer: I don't know where you live but where I used to live, if you owed $12,000. in back support, your butt would have been in jail! Who is the hearing for? Were you subpoenaed to go? If he owes back support like that, they will set it up to automatically take it out of his pay. Don't even think you'll get that back in one lump sum! They will s-t-r-e-t-c-h it out til it's paid back. Actually, I'd still want to go so I could see what was being said. Make sure you have dates and ex pence sheets.

Question: What is a Final Pretrial Conference in Court? We got a letter today that my son has been scheduled a final pretrial conference, not sure what that means? Anybody out there no???

Answer: It is the last conference between the prosecuting attorney, your son's attorney, and your son before Trial.

Question: What takes place at a pretrial conference in a civil suit? The insurance company has not yet made any offers to settle other than say that they want to go to mediation then stall. Will they make an offer at the pre-trial conference? It's a personal injury case by the way. I was hit over the head with a moet bottle by a bouncer at a club in NYC. I suffered a fractured skull and broken nose. I had surgery on my nose and now have a permanent seizure disorder.

Answer: Pretrial conferences are considered settlement negotiations, so anything said under the context of "settlement" cannot later be revealed were this case to go to court. Strategically, the attorneys are just trying to size you up. They wanna see what this "douchebag's" (that's what they're calling you) all about and determine firsthand the legitimacy of your claims. Here's what they're looking for: They've assessed your claims, and they want to determine what your are your strong and weak suits; where can lowball you, and where should they stay away. Here's the thing: They need to make this thing go away. Insurers are notoriously cheap, so the insurance company having to bill at about $250 an hour is killing them - but that does NOT mean they're about to give you the world. Stand your ground. Listen CAREFULLY to EVERYTHING your attorney tells you. DO NOT SCREW AROUND.

Question: What is an Initial Pretrial Conference? What is an Initial Pretrial Conference? I am asking in reference to Arizona state law.

Answer: An Initial pretrial conference is when you bring your calender and sets lots of dates and deadlines for status conference, mediation, and evidential trial. You should discuss a gameplan with your lawyer and already have goals for settlement. If there is no possibility for a settlement, then you should make this clear at the conference. The main idea is to speed up the trial and put everything on schedule.

Question: What to expect at a pretrial conference? I am a Pro Se defendant in a civil case. I have submitted my answer to complaint and submitted my pretrial statement. I have a pretrial conference scheduled for next week and was wondering if anyone could tell me what I should expect to happen at the pretrial conference. Any answers are appreciated.

Answer: http://www.answers.com/topic/pretrial-co…

Question: Can real estate partition lawsuits still be settled out of court before or at the pretrial conference? If the two parties happen to agree on a plan before any actual legal proceedings take place will there still be any huge court costs involved?

Answer: If the case has already been filed, then the filing fees will not be refundable. Court costs are not "huge" - the big bills in such cases come in the form of lawyers bills. Whatever work the lawyers did in getting to that agreement they will still get paid for. Richard

Question: Can I ask for a continuance before a pretrial conference? my wife's attorney has failed to delivery interrogatories. I wonder if this is cause to ask for a coninuance, since I dont have them, and havent had them. I cant file for contempt because i dont have the money for filing fee, and the judge already denied my application for a poverty waiver of fees. Do I simply file for a continuance, or what can I do. I need that evidence -- thats why they dont want to give it to me. Help someone.

Answer: You can always file for a continuance and where the attorney has failed to deliver discovery/interrogatories the judge will grant it and order the lawyer to comply.~

Question: Shouldn't a plea hearing come before a pretrial conference? I called in to the Clerk of Courts office to find out that on April 4th my ex-fiance has a pretrial conference and on May 14th he has a plea hearing. Should a Plea hearing come before a pretrial conference? What does a pretrial conference mean? What will happen at this point? Can his lawyer do this for him or does he HAVE TO be there in person?

Answer: First-he could be excused, but should not do so. A pretrial conference sets forth deadlines and deals with such things as disclosure of witnesses and evidence. The pre-trial conference is a very good opportunity to begin serious plea bargaining. Your ex-fiance should go there looking very presentable, but not phony--i.e. not a suit unless he always wears a suit, but dressed up to make a good impression. The Judge and the prosecutor should think, "this is a guy who's serious about cleaning up his act." Not attending shows lack of concern, and if he doesn't care, why should the judge and prosecutor? If your ex is well spoken, he should be with his atty and be cordial to the prosecutor. You would not believe how many defendants are rude to the person who can help them the most. Remember this--no one wants this case to go to trial (except perhaps your ex's atty if he's getting paid by the hour--but really not even him/her). The Court, the prosecutor and the defense atty are all very busy. Everyone wants to work this out. The Pre-trial is the time to start in earnest and to make that good impression. Don't let him miss it.

Question: Do I have to appear for a summons I received for a pretrial conference/mediation? This is for a creditor I owe.

Answer: Yes

Question: What happens if you don't show for civil pretrial conference dealing with a creditor?

Answer: Then the judge makes a decision based on the evidence presented. Sometimes you have the option of writing a letter in lieu of your presence. Chances are, the judgment will still be that you owe the money. You can't go to jail for owing a creditor, but their job is to do anything to get you to pay, making your life miserable and attempting to scare you. You need to know there are laws that protect you from debt collector harassment.

Question: what is the difference between a pretrial conference and a trial?

Answer: A pretrial conference discusses legal issues, and potential penalties. There is no evidence or testimony. The trial is a formal hearing where evidence is entered to determine guilt or innocence.

Question: A pretrial conference most likely would occur? A. before the complaint is filed. B. during an appeal. C. before discovery begins but after the complaint is filed. D. after discovery. The answer ended up being D. after discovery.

Answer: If you don't already understand why it isn't A or B, I suggest you drop the course and consider another line of study.

Question: help with pretrial conference? I have a trial for my first owi in wisconsin this week. The assistant DA said that when i come into the court room and sign in that i can sign in for a pretrial conference so that I can ask to get my BAC refusal removed. How does this pretrial conference work? What do i say to them to tried to get the refusal removed? How does this work step by step? I dont know anything about courtroom proceedings. Any info on these pretrial conferences and how the events of the court will unfold will be helpful so i can mentally prepare myself. Thanks in advance.

Answer: It really sounds as though you need the assistance of an attorney. In order to suppress evidence, you generally need to file a motion in limine. You would identify the evidence in question and provide the legal argument to justify suppressing that evidence. Unfortunately for you, you are VERY unlikely to have your refusal to submit to the BAC suppressed. Here are a couple of links to cases from your state regarding the suppression of evidence: http://www.lexisone.com/lx1/caselaw/free… http://www.vanwagnerwood.com/CM/Custom/W… http://www.law.wisc.edu/rcid/caselaw/wis…

Question: What happens at a pretrial conference? My husband is currently in jail down at the Laurel Co Detention Center in Kentucky. He has a pre trial conference on Jan 27 and I am trying to figure out what is going to happen from there. He is in there because of failure to appear in court back on dec 15, 2008. One more thing what would be the chance of him getting out of jail after the pre trial conference

Answer: They check to see if he has clean underwear for court & do a "full cavity search for WMD's"

Question: Can a judge sentence a person at a PTC (pretrial conference)? What will most likely happen? This is in Oklahoma County. He will be 18 next month. He is in for 4 counts: 1. 1st degree burglary, 2. larceny of an automobile, 3. and 2 counts of 2nd degree burglary. This PTC was supposed to have been in November but he failed to appear and was arrested 2 weeks ago when they found him. His bond is $50,000.

Answer: The pre-trial conference would have been to settle issues of attorney appointment and various procedural matters. Not for sentencing. Oh. And add the new felony offense, Failure to Appear. It's a crime itself and one you have no chance of beating. He's even dumber than you thought.

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