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Glite Dictionary
pretrial conference

pretrial conference

1 7.4
A meeting before a trial where a judge and lawyers discuss and plan the case
  • noun
  • /ˈpriˌtraɪəl ˈkɒn.fə.rəns/
  • Formal
translation icon : audiencia previa

Examples

  • Currently, the pretrial conference provisions of CIPA contemplate that the defendant may attend many such proceedings.

    Academic text (2007)

  • No deal terms were spelled out at the Tuesday pretrial conference for Palmer, who is charged with 39 counts of fraud and securities violations in the same case.

    Blog text (8)

  • As she entered the judge's chambers for a pretrial conference, a horrified Ellis was confronted with framed photographs along the walls of actual lynchings.

    Academic text (2003)

  • The lawyer prepared thoroughly for the upcoming pretrial conference to discuss the case details.

  • During the pretrial conference, the judge reviewed the evidence and set deadlines for the trial.

  • The pretrial conference successfully clarified the disputed issues before the case went to trial.

Synonyms

pretrial
vspretrial conference
  • Formal
2 6.6

A meeting before a court trial to discuss evidence and issues

is narrower, focusing on procedural planning and case conduct in civil contexts
prehearing
vspretrial conference
  • Formal
6.5

A meeting held before a formal hearing to agree how the case will go

is used before court cases to plan overall case conduct

Surface Forms

pretrial conference singular
pretrial conferences plural

Morphology

pretrial + conference

Both constituents are semantically transparent: 'pretrial' means 'prior to a trial' and 'conference' means 'a planned meeting', so a B1 learner who knows those words can readily infer 'a meeting held before a trial'. The adjective+noun composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern (e.g., Spanish 'conferencia previa al juicio'), which makes the meaning predictable.

Etymology

Pretrial conference comes from the simple, literal idea of a meeting held before a trial: pre- means 'before', trial is the court case, and conference means 'a meeting'. Judges and lawyers meet early to sort out questions and plan the steps, so pretrial conference now means 'a meeting to plan and clear up issues before a trial'.