A calendar call is an occasion where a

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

requires attorneys representing different matters to appear before the court so that

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or d ...

s and other proceedings before the court can be scheduled so as not to conflict with one another.Henry Campbell Black, A law dictionary containing definitions of the terms and phrases of American and English jurisprudence, ancient and modern (West Publishing Co., 1910) https://books.google.com/books?id=R2c8AAAAIAAJ Although typically a mundane event, attorneys on opposite sides of a

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

will often use the calendar call to maneuver for an advantage by pushing for a time that is nearer or farther away, depending on their perception of what will be to the advantage of their client. Often 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 p ...

pressing a lawsuit will want to resolve the matter quickly, while the

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one jurisdic ...

will want to delay the resolution for as long as possible. However, the opposite may also be true depending on several variables and specific circumstances in each case. In most jurisdictions (and in all

United States federal courts The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution and Law of the United States, laws of the fed ...

), parties to

criminal trial Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail or ...

s will be called upon first to set the dates of their hearings, as the government must adhere to tighter deadlines in prosecuting crimes, in order to protect the

rights of the accused Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail or ...

References

Legal procedure {{Law-term-stub