A dispositional conference is a Court appearance after the arraignment. It does not involve people testifying. A dispositional conference is an opportunity for the parties to discuss the case with the Court to see if there is a possibility for a plea agreement prior to having the case go to a contested motion or on the trial list. Before the dispositional conference, each side should have a realistic idea of how it wants the case to resolve. The goal for the Defense might be to avoid jail time, further license suspension or a criminal conviction altogether. Some courts do dispositional conferences by zoom, other courts require the conferences to be in person. If the parties come to an agreement at the conference, the case will be resolved on the record at that time or it may be scheduled for a later date to put the agreement on the record. If there is no agreement at the dispositional conference, the case is set for a motion hearing or a jury selection date.
