Rule 40.02 Purpose

Before a trial starts, the court holds a pretrial conference to check on a few key things and make sure the case is ready to move forward. This meeting helps the judge and both sides figure out whether the case is actually going to trial, or whether the person charged plans to plead guilty to the original charge or some other charge instead.

The conference also covers practical planning. The court will check whether all pretrial motions have been filed and handled, and the two sides will agree on which witnesses will actually testify at trial (and which ones won't be needed after all). This helps avoid surprises and wasted time later.

Finally, the judge and attorneys use this meeting to plan the trial schedule. They talk about how many days the trial will likely take and figure out when the case will be ready to start. If anyone has a scheduling conflict or other problem that could delay things, this is the time to bring it up.