CONTESTED CASE HEARING PREPARATION
Office of Administrative
Hearings
Telephone: 651-361-7900
Fax: 651-361-7936
Your hearing will be conducted by an Administrative Law
Judge (ALJ) appointed and employed by the Minnesota Office of Administrative
Hearings. The ALJ is not an employee of
the Agency that will be deciding this contested matter. The ALJ has not
discussed the merits of your case with either the agency or with any other
interested parties, unless there has been a prehearing conference with all the
parties. The ALJ will strive to conduct
a fair, efficient hearing. After the
hearing, the ALJ will weigh the evidence and arguments without any
predisposition to either accept or reject the proposed agency action, and will
prepare findings of fact, conclusions, and recommendations to the agency. The agency makes the final decision in most cases.
PREPARATION FOR THE HEARING
Settlement – If you would like to discuss settling your
case without a hearing, call the agency representative listed on the Notice and
Order for Hearing. There is often room
for compromise. You may also request
mediation rather than a contested hearing.
A skilled mediator may be able to help you and the agency find a way to
settle the dispute. If mediation fails,
you must be prepared to go to hearing.
Witnesses – Bring all witnesses to the hearing who have first-hand knowledge that will support your case. If the witness is not willing to come but you believe the testimony is necessary, you may ask the judge to issue a subpoena that will order the witness to come to the hearing. You must request the subpoena and arrange to have it served on the witness a reasonable time before the hearing date. You may testify yourself.
Documents – Bring all documents to the hearing that will
support your case. Have a copy for the
judge, and a copy for every other party.
The copy you give to the judge will not be returned; it will become a
permanent part of the hearing record. If
an agency or any other party has documents you would like to see, send a
written request for the documents well in advance of the hearing to the agency
or party who has the documents. If the
documents are not provided, you may ask the judge for assistance.
Communication with the ALJ – If you must communicate with
the judge for any reason prior to the hearing, send a copy of your
communication to the other parties, or arrange a telephone conference call with
the judge and other parties.
Materials – Bring a paper and pen to the hearing to jot
down questions that you would like to ask, or to remind yourself of points you
would like to make.
Be on Time - Allow
sufficient time to locate the building, park and locate the hearing room. If your hearing is at OAH in
Get a Look at Our Process Before the Hearing – The OAH
has posted an 8-minute video to the internet that describes our hearing process
and brings you inside one of our courtrooms.
The video is accessible here: http://www.oah.state.mn.us/info.html.
AGENDA FOR THE HEARING
Opening the Hearing – The judge will start the hearing by assuring that everyone is introduced and that the participants’ names and addresses are recorded. Then, the judge will explain the procedures that will be followed, and the order of presentation.
Opening Statement – After the judge has explained the
process, each party may make a short opening statement, summarizing what the
party’s evidence will show.
Presentation by
the agency or other initiating party - The agency will call its witnesses and
produce the documents that support its case.
You will have the opportunity to cross-examine each of the agency’s
witnesses and to object to documents that you believe should not be
considered. The judge will decide which
documents will be considered, and their importance.
Respondent’s
presentation – You will have the opportunity to call your witnesses, to testify
yourself, and to introduce documents that support your case. The agency will have the opportunity to
cross-examine your witnesses and may object to your documents.
Rebuttal – The
agency may want to introduce some additional evidence to rebut your
presentation.
Closing argument
– Each party may make a short closing statement, summarizing how the evidence
supports their case. Sometimes the
closing arguments are submitted in writing after the hearing has ended.
GUIDELINES
Purpose
of the hearing – The purpose is to consider whether the proposed agency action
described in the notice of hearing should be taken. The evidence must be directed to that
purpose.
Rules
of procedure – The rules governing contested cases are set forth in Minnesota
Rules 1400.5010, and following. See
especially Rule 1400.7800, Conduct of Hearing.
The rules are available from the Minnesota Bookstore (Metro:
651-297-3000; Toll Free: 800-657-3757) and at www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us, or www.oah.state.mn.us.
Recording the
hearing – The hearing will be recorded by a digital recorder or court
reporter. Any party may request that a
transcript be prepared or an audio copy.
There is a charge for these services.
Creating a
proper record – To assure that the record is complete and accurate, the
witnesses must observe the following rules:
a) only one person can speak at a time; b) all answers must be spoken
out loud (neither the digital recorder nor court reporter can record gestures
or the nodding of the head); c) technical terms and proper names must be
spelled.
Civility to
other participants – An administrative hearing is somewhat less formal than a
court trial and the rules of evidence are more lenient. However, the participants are expected to
treat each other cordially and with due respect for the seriousness of the
proceeding.
FOR MORE
INFORMATION: A Guide to Participating in
Contested Case Proceedings at the Office of Administrative Hearings is
available on our website at www.oah.state.mn.us. You will also find a Subpoena Request Form, and How
To Be a Good Witness, and information about the administrative law judges.
If you still
have questions after reviewing this information, please call 651-361-7900 and
ask to speak to one of the Administrative Law staff attorneys. They can answer general questions about
procedure, but they cannot provide you with legal advice.
Need a Lawyer?
You are not required to have a lawyer at OAH, but lawyers are most often
very helpful. You may call the Volunteer
Lawyers Network at 612-752-6677 for referral to free or reduced-cost legal
services if you are eligible. Even if
you are not eligible, they will refer you to lawyers that represent individuals
or businesses in Administrative Law cases such as yours. Your county Bar Association may also have a
lawyer referral service.