Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Criminal Pre-Trial Hearing

A pre-trial court appearance is generally for th purpose of settling the case. In criminal cases the defense attorney, deputy district attorney and judge attempt to settle the case. This normally involves the defendant pleading guilty to some charge with pre-determined limits on the sentence. In civil cases the plaintiff and defendant attempt to come to a compromise agreement to settle the case. The Judge will attempt to get the parties to agree to a settlement.