[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 5]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR511.42]

[Page 49-50]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
                            OF TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 511--ADJUDICATIVE PROCEDURES--Table of Contents
 
                           Subpart E--Hearings
 
Sec. 511.42  Powers and duties of Presiding Officer.

    (a) General. A Presiding Officer shall have the duty to conduct 
full, fair, and impartial hearings, to take appropriate action to avoid 
unnecessary delay in

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the disposition of proceedings, and to maintain order. He or she shall 
have all powers necessary to that end, including the following powers:
    (1) To administer oaths and affirmations;
    (2) To compel discovery and to impose appropriate sanctions for 
failure to make discovery;
    (3) To issue subpoenas;
    (4) To rule upon offers of proof and receive relevant and probative 
evidence;
    (5) To regulate the course of the hearings and the conduct of the 
parties and their representatives therein;
    (6) To hold conferences for simplification of the issues, settlement 
of the proceedings, or any other proper purposes;
    (7) To consider and rule, orally or in writing, upon all procedural 
and other motions appropriate in an adjudicative proceeding;
    (8) To issue initial decisions, rulings, and orders, as appropriate;
    (9) To certify questions to the Administrator for determination; and
    (10) To take any action authorized in this part or in conformance 
with the provisions of title 5, U.S.C., sections 551 through 559.
    (b) Exclusion of parties by Presiding Officer. A Presiding Officer 
shall have the authority, for good cause stated on the record, to 
exclude from participation in a proceeding any party, participant, and/
or representative who shall violate requirements of Sec. 511.76. Any 
party, participant and/or representative so excluded may appeal to the 
Administrator in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 511.23. If the 
representative of a party or participant is excluded, the hearing shall 
be suspended for a reasonable time so that the party or participant may 
obtain another representative.
    (c) Substitution of Presiding Officer. In the event of the 
substitution of a new Presiding Officer for the one originally 
designated, any motion predicated upon such substitution shall be made 
within five (5) days of the substitution.
    (d) Interference. In the performance of adjudicative functions, a 
Presiding Officer shall not be responsible to or subject to the 
supervision or direction of the Administrator or of any officer, 
employee, or agent engaged in the performance of investigative or 
prosecuting functions for NHTSA. All directions by the Administrator to 
a Presiding Officer concerning any adjudicative proceeding shall appear 
on and be made a part of the record.
    (e) Disqualification of Presiding Officer. (1) When a Presiding 
Officer deems himself or herself disqualified to preside in a particular 
proceeding, he or she shall withdraw by notice on the record and shall 
notify the Chief Administrative Law Judge of the withdrawal.
    (2) Whenever, for any reason, any party shall deem the Presiding 
Officer to be disqualified to preside, or to continue to preside, in a 
particular proceeding, that party may file with the Chief Administrative 
Law Judge a motion to disqualify and remove, supported by affidavit(s) 
setting forth the alleged grounds for disqualification. A copy of the 
motion and supporting affidavit(s) shall be served by the Chief 
Administrative Law Judge on the Presiding Officer whose removal is 
sought. The Presiding Officer shall have ten (10) days from service to 
reply in writing. Such motion shall not stay the proceeding unless 
otherwise ordered by the Presiding Officer or the Administrator. If the 
Presiding Officer does not disqualify himself or herself, the 
Administrator will determine the validity of the grounds alleged, either 
directly or on the report of another Presiding Officer appointed to 
conduct a hearing for that purpose, and shall in the event of 
disqualification take appropriate action, by assigning another Presiding 
Officer or requesting assignment of another Administrative Law Judge 
through the Office of Hearings.

[45 FR 81578, Dec. 11, 1980, as amended at 53 FR 15783, May 3, 1988]