Rule 22. Pretrial Procedure

(a) At any time after the return of the indictment or the filing of the information the court upon motion of any party or upon its own motion may invite the attorneys to appear before it for a conference in open court, at which the defendant shall have the right to be present, to consider: (1) The simplification of the issues; (2) The possibility of obtaining admissions of fact and documents which will avoid unnecessary proof; (3) The number of expert witnesses or character witnesses or other witnesses who are to give testimony of a cumulative nature; (4) Such other matters as may aid in the disposition of the proceeding. (b) The court shall make an order reciting the agreements made by the parties as to any of the matters considered, which shall be signed by the court and the attorneys for the parties, and when entered shall control the subsequent course of the proceedings, unless modified at the trial to prevent manifest injustice. (c) This rule shall not be invoked in the case of any defendant who is not represented by counsel. PART VI. TRIAL