Ohio Crim. R. 17.1
At any time after the filing of an indictment, information or complaint the court may, upon its own motion or the motion of any party, order one or more conferences to consider such matters as will promote a fair and expeditious trial. At the conclusion of a conference the court shall prepare and file a memorandum of the matters agreed upon. No admissions made by the defendant or defendant's counsel at the conference shall be used against the defendant unless the admissions are reduced to writing and signed by the defendant and defendant's counsel. The court shall not conduct pretrial conferences in any case in which a term of imprisonment is a possible penalty unless the defendant is represented by counsel or counsel has been waived pursuant to Crim. R. 44. In any case in which the defendant is not represented by counsel, any pretrial conference shall be conducted in open court and shall be recorded as provided in Crim. R. 22.
Ohio. Crim. R. 17.1
Staff Note (July 1, 2000 Amendment)
Rule 17.1 Pretrial Conference
The prior rule prohibited courts from conducting pretrial conferences in criminal cases until the defendant was represented by counsel. The amendment to Crim. R. 17.1 permits a court to conduct a pretrial conference with an unrepresented defendant in certain circumstances. Specifically, in cases in which a term of imprisonment is not a possible penalty, the court may conduct a pretrial conference with an unrepresented defendant when the defendant has waived counsel pursuant to Crim. R. 44. In such a case, the pretrial conference must be conducted on the record in open court.