[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR15f.21]

[Page 433-434]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
PART 15f_ADJUDICATIONS UNDER SECTION 741--Table of Contents
 
Subpart D_If I Request A Hearing, What Will Happen? How Will The Hearing 
                              Be Conducted?
 
Sec. 15f.21  What rules are applicable to the actual conduct of the hearing?

    (a) Who may appear at the hearing? You may appear at the hearing in 
person or through your attorney. OCR or the agency will appear through a 
designated representative, which may include a USDA attorney. Any person 
who appears as counsel must conform to the standards of ethical conduct 
required of practitioners before the courts of the United States.
    (b) What happens if I fail to show up? If, after having received 
notice of the hearing under Sec. 15f.14, you fail to appear at the 
hearing without good cause, you will have waived your right to a hearing 
in the proceeding and the ALJ may proceed to issue a final determination 
based on the written record as provided for under Sec. 15f.16.
    (c) Which party presents its case first at the hearing? You, as the 
complainant, will proceed first at the proceeding, unless otherwise 
determined by the ALJ.
    (d) What kind of evidence will be admitted and how will it be 
handled? (1) In general. The hearing will be conducted by the ALJ in the 
manner he or she determines most likely to obtain the facts relevant to 
the matter or matters at issue. The ALJ may confine the presentation of 
facts and evidence to pertinent matters and exclude irrelevant, 
immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence, information, or questions. 
Each party will have the opportunity to present oral and documentary 
evidence, oral testimony of witnesses, and arguments in support of the 
party's position; controvert evidence relied on by any other party; and 
question all witnesses. The testimony of witnesses at a hearing will be 
on oath or affirmation and will be subject to cross-examination. Any 
evidence may be received by the ALJ without regard to whether that 
evidence could be admitted in judicial proceedings. Upon a finding of 
good cause, the ALJ may order that any witness be examined separately 
and apart from all other witnesses except those who may be parties to 
the proceeding.
    (2) Objections. (i) If a party objects to the admission of any 
evidence or to the limitation of the scope of any examination or cross-
examination or to any other ruling of the ALJ, the party must state 
briefly the grounds of such objection.
    (ii) Only objections made before the ALJ may subsequently be relied 
upon in the proceeding.
    (3) Depositions. The deposition of any witness will be admitted in 
the manner provided in and subject to the provisions of Sec. 15f.18(c) 
of these rules.
    (4) Exhibits. Unless the ALJ finds that the furnishing of copies is 
impracticable, two copies of each exhibit must be filed with the ALJ. A 
party submitting an exhibit must provide every other party (except 
interested parties)

[[Page 434]]

a copy of the exhibit one week before the hearing. A true copy of an 
exhibit may be substituted for the original.
    (5) Official records or documents. An official government record or 
document or entry therein, if admissible for any purpose, will be 
admissible in evidence without the production of the person who made or 
prepared the same, and will be prima facie evidence of the relevant 
facts stated therein. Such record or document must be evidenced by an 
official publication thereof or a copy certified by a person having 
legal authority to make such certification.
    (6) Official notice. Official notice will be taken of such matters 
as are judicially noted by the courts of the United States and of any 
other matter of technical, scientific, or commercial fact of established 
character if the parties are given adequate notice of matters so 
noticed, and the parties will be given adequate opportunity to show that 
such facts are erroneously noticed.
    (7) Offer of proof. Whenever evidence is excluded by the ALJ, the 
party offering such evidence may make an offer of proof, which must be 
included in the transcript. The offer of proof should consist of a brief 
statement describing the evidence excluded. If the evidence consists of 
a brief oral statement, it must be included in the transcript in its 
entirety. If the evidence consists of an exhibit, it must be marked for 
identification and inserted in the hearing record.
    (8) Interlocutory review. Interlocutory review of rulings by the ALJ 
will not be permitted.
    (9) Transcript or recording. (i) Hearings to be conducted by 
telephone will be recorded verbatim by electronic recording device. 
Hearings conducted by audio-visual telecommunication or by the personal 
attendance of parties and witnesses must be transcribed, unless the ALJ 
finds that recording the hearing verbatim would expedite the proceeding 
and the ALJ orders the hearing to be recorded verbatim. The ALJ must 
certify that to the best of his or her knowledge and belief any 
recording made pursuant to this paragraph with exhibits that were 
accepted into evidence is the record of the hearing.
    (ii) If a hearing is recorded verbatim, a party requests the 
transcript of a hearing or part of a hearing, and the ALJ determines 
that the disposition of the proceeding would be expedited by a 
transcript of the hearing or part of a hearing, the ALJ shall order the 
verbatim transcription of the recording as requested by the party.
    (iii) The costs of transcription or verbatim recordings will be paid 
for by USDA and charged to the agency whose action gave rise to the 
complaint at issue. Copies of recordings or transcripts of hearings will 
be made available to any party at the actual cost of duplication.