A status conference (sometimes called an early conference) is a court-ordered meeting with a

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

(or under some circumstances an authorized counsel) where a

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

date (or other case deadlines) is decided. The meeting may also involve getting updated information on a defendant for ongoing conditions, set forth previously by the courts, such as house arrest or home monitoring. It can also involve the discussion of a

plea bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a ...

or result in a settlement. If a party does not attend the status conference, that party's requests for scheduling changes will be ignored, and they may be fined. If the

plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the ...

and/or a representative of plaintiff does not attend the status conference, the action may be dismissed.

Reference

Civil procedure {{law-stub