Courts, Legal Basics

questions & answers

Question: what is a pretrial conference hearing

Answer:

In The Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 16(a) defines the objectives of pretrial conferences. That rule, titled "Pretrial conferences; objectives", states "In any action, the court may in its discretion direct the parties, the attorneys for the parties and, if appropriate, representatives of the parties having authority to settle, to participate, either in person or, with leave of court, by telephone, in a conference or conferences before trial for such purposes as:

1) expediting the disposition of the action;

2) establishing early and continuing control so that the case will not be protected because of lack of management;

3) discouraging wasteful pretial activities; and

4) improving the quality of the trial through more thorough preparation

See the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure for more information about pretrial conference hearings. Note that this answer only discusses hearings for civil cases, not criminal cases.