§ 35-36-8-3 — Pretrial hearing and conference; time; purposes; memorandum of matters agreed upon; use of admission

(a) A pretrial hearing and pretrial conference,
if one is necessary, may be held on the omnibus date or any other date
that the court designates prior to the commencement of trial. The
purpose of the pretrial hearing is to:
(1) consolidate hearings on pretrial motions and other requests to
the maximum extent practicable;
(2) rule on the motions and requests and ascertain whether the
case will be disposed of by guilty plea, jury trial, or bench trial;
and
(3) make any other orders appropriate under the circumstances to
expedite the proceedings.
(b) At the time of the pretrial hearing as provided under this section,
or at any other time after the filing of the indictment or information and
before the commencement of trial, the court, upon motion of any party
or upon its own motion, may order conferences to consider any matters
that will promote a fair and expeditious trial. The purpose of such a
conference shall be to consider any matters related to the disposition of
the proceedings, including the simplification of the issues to be tried
and the possibility of obtaining admissions of fact and of documents
which will avoid unnecessary proof.
(c) At the conclusion of the conference the court shall prepare and
file a memorandum of the matters agreed upon. Any admission made
by the defendant or his attorney at the conference may not be used
against the defendant unless the admission is reduced to writing and
signed by the defendant and his attorney.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.298, SEC.5.