What happens at a pretrial or status hearing?

It depends on the court and the case, but usually it is the courts opportunity to find out from the attorneys whether the case is ready for trial and if so, then how long the trial will take, how many witnesses are expected, and whether there will be special issues. Sometimes the court will hold separate pretrial hearings with witnesses to determine issues such as whether a confession may be used at trial. ... more

It depends on the court and the case, but usually it is the court's opportunity to find out from the attorneys whether the case is ready for trial and if so, then how long the trial will take, how many witnesses are expected, and whether there will be special issues. Sometimes the court will hold separate pretrial hearings with witnesses to determine issues such as whether a confession may be used at trial. ... more