Rule 16.Pre-trial Procedure — Formulating Issues.
Current through February 2024 · Last verified September 12, 2026
Full Text of Rule 16
Amendment History
Rhode Island does not publish a per-rule amendment history inside the compiled rules text reproduced here. The text above is verified current through the source’s own February 2024 printing; for the underlying adopting orders and any later amendments, see the Rhode Island Judiciary’s compiled rules page.
Plain-English Summary
The conference is discretionary. In any action the court may direct the attorneys for the parties, or a self-represented litigant, to appear before it. The agenda is set by the rule: simplifying the issues, whether the pleadings need amendment, whether admissions of fact and of documents can spare anyone unnecessary proof, limits on the number of expert witnesses, and any other matter that helps dispose of the action.
What follows the conference is not a memo for the file. The court enters an order reciting the action taken, the amendments allowed to the pleadings and the agreements the parties made on the matters considered, and the order limits the issues for trial to those not already resolved by admissions or agreements of counsel.
That order is the weight of the rule. It controls the subsequent course of the action unless it is modified at trial to prevent manifest injustice. An issue given away by agreement or admission at the conference is gone from the trial, and the rule sets no deadline of its own — the court decides when, or whether, to hold the conference at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a pre-trial conference in Rhode Island Family Court?
Rule 16 lets the court direct the attorneys, or a self-represented litigant, to appear for a conference on simplifying the issues, amending the pleadings, obtaining admissions of fact and documents, limiting expert witnesses, and other matters that aid disposition of the case. The court then enters an order recording what happened.
Do I have to attend if I represent myself?
If the court directs you to appear, yes. Rule 16 lets the court direct the attorneys for the parties or a self-represented litigant to appear before it for the conference, so whether a conference is held is the court's call. Once it directs you to appear, that direction is an order of the court.
Can the court limit how many expert witnesses I call?
Yes. Limiting the number of expert witnesses is one of the five subjects Rule 16 lists for the conference, and the resulting order records what was decided.
Can we change something we agreed to at the conference?
The pre-trial order controls the later course of the action unless it is modified at trial to prevent manifest injustice. That standard, not a change of mind, is what Rule 16 requires for a departure.
Is a pre-trial conference held in every case?
No. Rule 16 says the court may in its discretion direct a conference in any action, so it is an option the court chooses rather than a step every case takes.