A Status Conference is a meeting of the parties, their attorneys and Court Administration the week before trial. More cases are scheduled for trial than it is possible to accommodate each week. Experience shows that between the time the trial is scheduled and the actual day of trial, many cases resolve completely. Other cases resole partially and only have a few issues left to be decided, reducing the trial time needed.

What needs to be accomplished at the Status Conference?

• Determine whether a trial is still needed

• Determine how long the trial is expected to last

• Determine the day and time the trial will begin

What can be accomplished at the Status Conference?

• If all parties and their attorneys are present, the conference presents another opportunity to discuss a settlement

• If a settlement is reached, a judge and court reporter are generally available to put the terms of the settlement on the court record so it is not necessary to return to court on the trial date

• If the case is proceeding to trial, each party can find out who the witnesses are

All cases scheduled for trial in a particular week have their Status Conferences at the same time. The Status Conference meeting for all the cases lasts approximately 20 minutes. The Status Conference is informal, with much discussion about the status of each case. No case can be assigned its specific start day and time until all cases have been discussed. Your patience at the Status Conference is appreciated.

If there are more trials proceeding to trial than the Court can hear, your trial may be placed on standby. If this happens, you will be given a trial date that week and Court Administration will call you by Noon the day before to advise whether your trial will be heard. If your trial is not heard on its standby date, it will be bumped to the last week of the month with a new Status Conference date assigned.

Even if all parties and their attorneys agree to continue the trial date, all requests for continuance must be scheduled before the Presiding Judge and heard no later than the Friday before the Status Conference. A Court Commissioner cannot hear requests to continue trial. There are few reasons a trial can be continued administratively.