Title 18

SECTION 385.508

385.508 Exhibits (Rule 508).

§ 385.508 Exhibits (Rule 508).

(a) General rules. (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) through (e) of this section, any material offered in evidence, other than oral testimony, must be offered in the form of an exhibit.

(2) The presiding officer will cause each exhibit offered by a participant to be marked for identification.

(b) Designation and treatment of matter sought to be admitted. (1) If a document offered as an exhibit contains material not offered as evidence, the participant offering the exhibit must:

(i) Plainly designate the matter offered as evidence; and

(ii) Segregate and exclude the material not offered in evidence, to the extent practicable.

(2) If, in a document offered as an exhibit, material not offered in evidence is so extensive as to unnecessarily encumber the record, the material offered in evidence will be marked for identification. The remainder of the document will be considered not to have been offered in evidence.

(3) Copies of any document offered as an exhibit under paragraph (b)(2) of this section must be delivered to the other participants appearing at the hearing by the participant offering the exhibit in evidence. The participants will be offered an opportunity to inspect the entire document and to offer as an exhibit in evidence, in like manner, any other portions of the document.

(c) Public document items by reference. If all or part of a public document is offered in evidence and the participant offering the document shows that all or the pertinent part of the document, is reasonably available to the public, the document need not be produced or marked for identification but may be offered in evidence as a public document by identifying all or the relevant part of the document to be offered.

(d) Official notice of facts. (1) A presiding officer may take official notice of any matter that may be judicially noticed by the courts of the United States, or of any matter about which the Commission, by reason of its functions, is expert.

(2) The presiding officer must afford any participant, making a timely request, an opportunity to show the contrary of an officially noticed fact.

(3) Any participant requesting official notice of facts after the conclusion of the hearing must set forth reasons to justify the failure to request official notice prior to the close of the hearing.

(e) Stipulations. (1) Participants in a proceeding may stipulate to any relevant matters of fact or the authenticity of any relevant documents.

(2) A stipulation may be received in evidence at the hearing and, if received in evidence, the stipulation is binding on the stipulating participants with respect to any matter stipulated.

(3) A stipulation may be written or made orally at the hearing.

[Order 225, 47 FR 19022, May 3, 1982, as amended by Order 811, 80 FR 36236, June 24, 2015]

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