A pretrial hearing is a legal meeting that occurs before a trial. It is where both sides of a court case present and discuss legal issues, present evidence, and clarify details before proceeding to the actual trial. Full definition
Winning DWI and CVO Cases at Pretrial Hearing and at Trialand Winning Implied Consent and Other Drivers License Cases, Strategies for Success with DWI Cases in Minnesota, Lorman Education Services, December 3, 2004 — June 10, 2005 (mpls-criminal-lawyer.com)
District judges have the time (because they've invested the time in pretrial hearings, trials, and sentencing hearings) to make good sentencing decisions, whereas appellate judges don't have and can't have the same time invested in each case. (sentencing.typepad.com)
While in Arizona, Jeff served first as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, during which time he conducted eight jury trials and numerous pretrial hearings in complex matters. (innoasialegal.com)