Title 16
SECTION 1502.30
1502.30 Prehearing conference procedure.
§ 1502.30 Prehearing conference procedure.(a) Participants in a hearing are to appear at the prehearing conference prepared to discuss and resolve all matters specified in paragraph (b) of this section.
(1) To expedite the hearing, participants are encouraged to prepare in advance for the prehearing conference. Participants should cooperate with each other, and should request information and begin preparation of testimony at the earliest possible time. Failure of a participant to appear at the prehearing conference or to raise matters that reasonably could be anticipated and resolved at that time will not delay the progress of the hearing and constitutes a waiver of the rights of the participant regarding such matters as objections to the agreements reached, actions taken, or rulings issued by the presiding officer at or as a result of the prehearing conference and may be grounds for striking the participation under § 1502.16.
(2) Participants shall bring to the prehearing conference the following specific information, which will be filed with the Office of the Secretary under § 1502.23:
(i) Any additional information desired to supplement the submission filed under § 1502.25; the supplement may be filed if approved under § 1502.25.
(ii) A list of all witnesses whose testimony will be offered, orally or in writing, at the hearing, with a full curriculum vitae for each. Additional witnesses may be identified later, with the approval of the presiding officer, on a showing that the witness was not reasonably available at the time of the prehearing conference, that the relevance of the witness's views could not reasonably have been foreseen at that time, or for other good cause shown, as where a previously identified witness is unforeseeably unable to testify.
(iii) All prior written statements, including articles and any written statement signed or adopted, or a recording or transcription of an oral statement made, by persons identified as witnesses if -
(A) The statement is available without making a request to the witness;
(B) The statement relates to the subject matter of the witness's testimony; and
(C) The statement either was made before the time the person agreed to become a witness or has been made publicly available by the person.
(b) The presiding officer will conduct a prehearing conference for the following purposes:
(1) To determine the areas of factual disagreement to be considered at the hearing. The presiding officer may hold conferences off the record in an effort to reach agreement on disputed factual questions, subject to the ex parte limitations in § 1502.17(f).
(2) To identify the most appropriate techniques for developing evidence on issues in controversy and the manner and sequence in which they will be used, including, where oral examination is to be conducted, the sequence in which witnesses will be produced for, and the time and place of, oral examination. The presiding officer may consider, but is not limited to, the following techniques.
(i) Submission of narrative statements of position on factual issues in controversy.
(ii) Submission of evidence or identification of previously submitted evidence to support such statements, such as affidavits, verified statements of fact, data, studies, and reports.
(iii) Exchange of written interrogatories directed to particular witnesses.
(iv) Written requests for the production of additional documentation, data, or other relevant information.
(v) Submission of written questions to be asked by the presiding officer of a specific witness.
(vi) Identification of facts for which oral examination and/or cross-examination is appropriate.
(3) To group participants with substantially like interests for presenting evidence, making motions and objections, including motions for summary decision, filing briefs, and presenting oral argument.
(4) To hear and rule on objections to admitting information submitted under § 1502.25 into evidence.
(5) To obtain stipulations and admissions of facts.
(6) To take other action that may expedite the hearing.
(c) The presiding officer shall issue, orally or in writing, a prehearing order reciting the actions taken at the prehearing conference and setting forth the schedule for the hearing. The order will control the subsequent course of the hearing unless modified by the presiding officer for good cause.