The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the case is in the pretrial phase.
To streamline the pretrial phase, including document requests and depositions, cases from around the country were transferred last fall to Judge Barker's court.
After all, Private Manning's case is still in pretrial phase and the full court-martial will not begin until June 3.
Judge Kram's ruling allows shareholders and bondholders to proceed to the pretrial phase in which they can demand evidence and depositions from Time Warner and its current and former employees, putting them in a better position to negotiate a settlement.
And Judge Lifland recalled today that at the pretrial phase the issue seemed so troublesome that there had been some consideration of actually concealing from jurors the fact that Mr. Faison had died.
Just as trials are a type of theater, so the pretrial phase is about seeking out advantages that can be used to help shape the story that will be told to the jury.
The motion, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, also asked a judge to allow the plaintiff's lawyers to conduct discovery, the pretrial phase of a lawsuit in which each party can obtain evidence through depositions and other means.
The streak of dismissals notwithstanding, several major lawsuits against the rating agencies have survived the pretrial phase and might -- emphasis on might -- end with huge jury verdicts or expensive settlements.
Under another proposed rule, commanders would be given the authority to transfer those accused of sexual assault to another base during the pretrial phase of an investigation, to remove any chance of continued contact with the accuser.
Public prosecutors in France are concerned that courts show too much leniency toward suspected white-collar criminals like Mr. Kerviel when their cases eventually come to trial, Mr. Bonifassi said, so prosecutors frequently seek to jail suspects in the pretrial phase.
