Pretrial Motions in the McKinney Dog Bite Case

A pretrial motion is when one of the parties files a document asking the court to do something. This could be a release of evidence, suppression of evidence, summary judgment, or more. If you have any questions about the pretrial motions in this dog bite case, reach out to an experienced lawyer.

Purpose of Pretrial Motions

The purpose of pretrial motions is to help shape the trial that is going to occur. They are used to get certain evidence in or keep certain evidence out. Sometimes they even force the claimant’s opponent to bring in evidence at times when they do not want to bring it in. This can affect what is said in opening statements because the evidence has not come in yet.

The pretrial orders can be very strategic. In many cases, the pretrial process is fairly standard. However, when dealing with something out of the ordinary, such as 18-wheeler wrecks, there is much more evidence that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act says that both the trucking companies have to have and keep. In this situation, there are many more issues that come into play. This can affect opening statements and even the order of proof that is brought in.

Resolving Questions About the Case

Pretrial motions help to resolve any questions about the lawsuit all the time. A lawsuit dynamic and when a judge makes a ruling or chooses not to make a ruling on a particular issue, that affects the case. The judge has the power to throw out the lawsuit or allow it to flourish. Depending on their rulings, it always affects how the cases proceed.

These pretrial hearings are critical for trying a lawsuit because it affects what is happening and impacts what decisions have to be made in real-time. Depending upon the judge’s ruling, a lawyer may have to completely jettison an entire part of your case or unexpectedly add an entire part of the case.

The dynamics of the courtroom can change minute to minute, ruling to ruling. They can radically affect who might win or who might lose these lawsuits. It can radically affect whether or not the case can or cannot be upheld on appeal, or whether or not there is a reversible error. All of that depends upon these rulings that the judge makes, and many of them are made in pretrial conferences.