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What happens at a pretrial conference?
A defendant, the person charged or the attorney of the defendant will be given an opportunity to meet with a prosecutor to review the facts supporting the criminal charges against him or her. At the pretrial conference, a defendant is entitled to review a copy of the complaint, any written police reports or any other evidence that the State intends to use at the trial. Witnesses do not attend the pretrial disposition conference and no testimony is taken. However, victims do have the right to be present if they request to do so. A defendant has three options at the pretrial conference:
• Accept the offer from the prosecutor, including any sentencing agreements, and then plead “guilty” or “no contest.” But the judge must still approve the settlement.
• Reject the offer from the prosecutor, but still plead “guilty” or “no contest” to the original charges. Both sides would then have the right to ask for any sentence they want.
• Maintain his or her plea of not guilty and ask for a trial.
Resources:
Criminal Traffic Pretrial Conference