12.04 Preliminary hearing

When someone raises a defense or asks for relief under Rules 12.02 or 12.03, they can ask the court to decide that issue before the trial starts. This applies whether the defense was included in a written pleading or brought up through a separate motion.

The judge will normally hear and rule on these matters early, before the case goes to trial. This helps settle basic legal questions, like whether the court has the right authority to hear the case, before both sides spend time and money preparing for trial.

However, the judge has the power to wait. If the court decides it makes more sense to deal with these issues during the trial itself, it can order that the hearing be put off until then. So while parties have the right to ask for an early decision, the final call on timing belongs to the judge.