New indictments have been filed against Sherri Akins, the former Bulloch County clerk of courts, and Teresa Tucker, the current, suspended clerk of courts. The next scheduled court date for both defendants is a status conference on Dec. 16 before Ogeechee Judicial Circuit Chief Judge William E. Woodrum Jr. A status conference is a pretrial meeting of attorneys before a judge to inform the court on the progress of a case, including evidence that has been collected, settlement negotiations and the expected length of trial. “We will be in discussion with Mr. McConnell to find out if we can avoid having to go through what we believe would be a very long and laborious trial in the case,” Akins’ attorney Sims Lanier said Thursday, referring to the prosecutor in the case, Greg McConnell, the chief assistant district attorney for the Eastern Judicial Circuit, based in Savannah.