Rule 33 Appeal Conferences

The court can call a meeting during an appeal to talk about the case with the lawyers, and sometimes the people involved in the case too. This meeting can cover anything that might help move the case along, like narrowing down the issues that need to be decided or trying to work out a settlement. A justice or someone else picked by the court will run the meeting.

If the meeting is about settling the case, lawyers need to talk to their clients first. They should get as much permission as they can to agree to a settlement during the meeting, so they don't have to stop and check with their client every time an offer comes up.

After the meeting, the court can issue an order based on what was discussed. This might set rules for how the rest of the appeal will go, or it might put a settlement agreement into effect if the parties reached one.