pretrial

[ US /pɹiˈtɹaɪəɫ/ ]
[ UK /pɹiːtɹˈa‍ɪə‍l/ ]

NOUN

(law) a conference held before the trial begins to bring the parties together to outline discovery proceedings and to define the issues to be tried; more useful in civil than in criminal cases

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How To Use pretrial In A Sentence

During a pretrial hearing last month, Abdulmutallab muttered "Osama's alive" to some spectators as he was brought into the courtroom and mumbled "jihad" when the judge used the phrase "al Qaeda" as she read the charges against him. Reuters: Press Release
It's the final pretrial hearing before the criminal trial begins on August 27.
It does not proceed on the pretrial dossier.
Similar tactics are often employed against political defendants during pretrial proceedings.
Instead, the 15- and 16-year-old Fort Myers-area girls were referred to a pretrial diversion program at the request of the victim's father. Kansas City Star: Front Page
Aggressive use of pretrial motions has strategic as well as substantive advantages.
As the key mechanism for the pretrial procedure, summary judgment plays a special filterative role in handling non-contentious cases of civil procedure.
Under Article 10 of the UCMJ and military case law, an accused in pretrial confinement must be brought to trial with "reasonable diligence. David Isenberg: Ahem: About That Great Change to the UCMJ
There will be a tedious, time-consuming pretrial period.
The government has been shrewd and it hasn't been frugal with funds, running up £1.5m in expenses to date after a handful of pretrial hearings.

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