§ 14.30.090. Hearing procedures.

A.

Conduct of hearings.

1.

Parties may appear in person or through counsel.

2.

Parties may present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf.

3.

Parties or their counsel may cross examine opposing witnesses on matters relevant to the issues, impeach witnesses regardless of which party first called the witness to testify, and rebut evidence against himself.

4.

All testimony shall be given under oath or affirmation.

5.

All administrative hearings shall be open to the public, unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.

6.

All parties shall have the right to subpoena witnesses and documents pursuant to section 14.30.080 provided that the application for issuance is filed at least five working days before the date of the hearing.

7.

All administrative hearings shall be memorialized by an electronic recording or a stenographic record.

8.

Tapes shall be kept a minimum of 180 days after hearing.

B.

Evidence. When a matter arises at the hearing, the procedure for which is not set out in these rules or in chapter 3.60, the administrative hearing officer may look to the Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, the Alaska Rules of Evidence, or other pertinent legal precedent, texts or treatises for guidance in making rulings.

1.

The administrative hearings officer shall have full authority to admit or exclude testimony or other evidence and to rule upon all motions or objections regarding evidence.

2.

Relevant evidence shall be admitted if it is the sort of evidence on which responsible persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs, regardless of the existence of a common law or statutory rule which makes improper the admission of the evidence over objection in a civil action. Hearsay evidence may be considered provided there are guarantees of its trustworthiness and that it is more probative on the point for which it is offered than any other evidence which the proponent can procure by reasonable efforts.

3.

Irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded. Erroneous rulings on evidence shall not preclude action by the administrative hearings officer on the record unless shown to have substantially prejudiced the rights of a party.

4.

The administrative hearings officer may take notice of judicially recognizable facts, and the administrative hearings officer may take official notice of general, technical or scientific facts within the specialized knowledge of the hearings officer. Parties shall be notified at any time during the proceeding, but in any event prior to the final decision, of material officially noticed and they shall be afforded an opportunity to contest the facts so noticed.

5.

All evidence shall be offered and made a part of the record in the case, and except for matters stipulated to and except as provided in subsection B.4 of this section, no other factual information or evidence shall be considered in the determination of the case. Documentary evidence may be received in the form of copies or excerpts, or by incorporation by reference. The burden of presenting evidence to support a fact or position in a contested case rests on the proponent of the fact or position.

6.

The administrative hearings officer shall give effect to the rules of privilege recognized by the Alaska Rules of Evidence.

7.

When demeanor, inconsistency or personal credibility are bases for a decision, the administrative hearings officer shall specifically note these observations in the officer's findings.

C.

Burden of proof. The burden of proof of violation or affirmative defense required shall be proof by a preponderance of the evidence. The burden of persuasion shall be borne by the proponent of an issue.

(AO No. 93-167(S-1), § 1, 4-13-94)