In general. If a respondent timely requests a hearing, an administrative hearing officer shall:
set the date, time, and place for the hearing;
provide the parties with at least twenty (20) days' notice of the hearing.
Contents of notice. The notice shall state:
the date, time, place, and nature of the hearing;
the right of a party to be represented, at the party's own expense, by an attorney or, if permitted by law, another representative;
the right of a party to seek discovery under Section 13-1141 of the Prince George's County Code;
the right of party to call witnesses and submit documents or other evidence under Section 13-1231 of the Prince George's County Code; and
that failure to appear for the scheduled hearing may result in an adverse action against the party.
In general. Absent a showing of good cause, and unless a specific time standard is prescribed by another provision of this Code, the hearing date shall be within one hundred eighty (180) days of the filing of a request for hearing or appeal filed under this Subtitle or under another provision of this Code.
Accelerated hearing. A Respondent or other appellant may waive the twenty (20) days' notice provision in Section 13-1142 of this Subdivision and may request an accelerated hearing. Upon receipt of a request for accelerated hearing, the Hearing Administrator may assign the case for an immediate hearing, on appropriate notice to the charging agency and subject to the availability of the charging agency to appear. By requesting an accelerated hearing, a party waives any right to discovery.
Orderly but informal. All hearings shall be conducted in an orderly but informal manner.
Expedition.
Hearings shall proceed with all reasonable expedition and, to the extent practicable, shall be held at one place and continue without suspension, except for brief recesses, until concluded.
The Administrative Hearing Unit shall arrange for a stenographic, mechanically, and/or digitally-created record of all hearings.
Subject to modification by an administrative hearing officer for good cause, all hearings shall be conducted in the following order:
presentation and argument of motions preliminary to a hearing on the merits;
presentation of opening statements, if any;
charging agency's case in chief;
respondent's case in chief;
charging agency's case in rebuttal;
charging agency's closing argument;
respondent's closing argument; and
charging agency's rebuttal closing, if necessary.
In general. Before testifying, a witness is required to declare that the witness will testify truthfully and under the penalties of perjury.
Administration. The declaration shall be by oath or affirmation, administered:
in the form of Maryland Rule 1-303; or
in special circumstances, in some other form or affirmation calculated to impress on the witness the duty to tell the truth.
General duties. An Administrative Hearing Officer has the duty to:
conduct a fair and impartial hearing;
take all necessary action to avoid delay in the disposition of proceedings;
maintain order; and
ensure the hearing provides fundamental fairness.
General powers. An Administrative Hearing Officer has all powers necessary to these ends, including the power to:
administer oaths and affirmations;
issue discovery orders and rule on objections to those orders;
receive evidence and rule on offers of proof;
regulate the course of the hearing and the conduct of the parties and their representatives;
hold conferences for simplification of issues or for any other proper purposes;
interrogate witnesses;
consider and rule on all procedural and other motions, including requests for adjournment; and
make and file recommended decisions and orders.
An Administrative Hearing Officer may not receive any ex-parte communication from any party, including, but not limited to, the charging agency, or a Respondent or appellant about a proceeding.
In general. An Administrative Hearing Officer should disqualify himself or herself from any hearing in which the Administrative Hearing Officer's impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including any instances in which the Administrative Hearing Officer:
has a personal bias or prejudice about a party;
has personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts in the proceeding;
served as a lawyer in the matter in controversy or was professionally associated with another person while that person served as a lawyer in the matter in controversy;
has been a material witness to the matter;
has a financial interest in the subject matter in controversy or in a party to the proceeding;
has any other interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding;
knows that his or her spouse or dependent child:
is serving as a lawyer in the matter in controversy or is professionally associated with another person who is serving as a lawyer in the matter in controversy;
is likely to be a material witness in the proceeding;
has a financial interest in the subject matter in controversy or in a party to the proceeding; or
has any other interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding; or
any other reason creating a conflict of interest.
Motion to disqualify.
A party may request that an Administrative Hearing Officer disqualify him- or herself for good cause shown. The request shall be ruled on by the Administrative Hearing Officer in the proceeding.
If the Administrative Hearing Officer denies the request, the party may obtain a brief adjournment to seek review by the Hearing Administrator.
Notice of disqualification. When an Administrative Hearing Officer disqualifies him- or herself from a proceeding, the Administrative Hearing Officer shall do so on the record and shall notify the Hearing Administrator of the recusal.
Replacement. On disqualification of an Administrative Hearing Officer, the Hearing Administrator shall appoint another Administrative Hearing Officer to conduct the hearing.
Administrative Hearing Officer may allow. If doing so will facilitate the determination of a controversy on the merits, an Administrative Hearing Officer may allow, upon written motion by the applicable party and leave of the Administrative Hearing Officer, appropriate amendments to a citation or notice of violation, subject to conditions necessary to avoid injustice, prejudice or unfair surprise to a party.
Without Leave of the Administrative Hearing Officer. A charging agency may file an amendment to citation or notice of violation without leave of the Administrative Hearing Officer by the date set forth in a scheduling order or, if there is no scheduling order, no later than 30 days before a scheduled hearing date. Within 15 days after service of an amendment, any other party to the action may file a motion to strike setting forth reasons why the Administrative Hearing Officer should not allow the amendment. If an amendment introduces new facts or varies the case in a material respect, an adverse party who wishes to contest new facts or allegations shall file a new or additional answer to the amendment within the time remaining to answer the original citation or within 15 days after service of the amendment, whichever is later. If no new or additional answer is filed within the time allowed, the answer previously filed shall be treated as the answer to the amendment.
Conformance to evidence. When issues reasonably within the scope of a citation, but not expressly raised by the citation, are tried with both parties present:
the issues shall be treated in all respects as if they had been raised by the citation; and
provided it is not prejudicial, amendments of the citation may be made at any time necessary to make it conform to the evidence, with leave or permission of the Administrative Hearing Officer.
In general. The charging agency has the burden of proof in establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that the respondent has committed the violations charged in the citation.
Citation as prima facie evidence. If a citation is sworn to or affirmed under the penalties of perjury, the citation constitutes prima facie evidence of the facts stated in it.
In general. Unless otherwise provided by these rules and regulations, the proceedings shall be conducted in an informal manner and the strict rules of evidence shall not apply.
Right to submit. On a genuine issue of fact, a party is entitled to:
call witnesses;
offer evidence; including rebuttal evidence;
cross-examine any witness that another party calls; and
present summation and argument.
Scope. The Administrative Hearing Officer:
may admit probative evidence that reasonable and prudent individuals commonly accept in the conduct of their affairs and give probative effect to that evidence.
may not exclude evidence solely on the basis that it is hearsay;
shall give effect to a privilege recognized by law;
may take official notice of a fact that is judicially noticeable or that is general, technical or scientific and within the specialized knowledge of an Administrative Hearing Officer; and
may exclude evidence that is:
incompetent;
irrelevant;
immaterial;
unduly repetitious;
unduly prejudicial.
Stipulation authorized. At any time before the Administrative Hearing Officer issues a recommended decision and order, the charging agency may offer the respondent a settlement of the matter by stipulation instead of a further hearing.
Required elements. The stipulation shall:
be in the manner and form set by the Administrative Hearing Unit; and
contain:
an admission of the violation;
the facts stipulated to;
the amount of the penalty to be imposed; and
the compliance to be ordered, if any.
Before initial hearing.
If the stipulation is entered into and filed with the Administrative Hearing Unit before the initial hearing on the matter, the stipulation shall be reviewed by an Administrative Hearing Officer.
Within a reasonable time after the stipulation has been filed, the Administrative Hearing Officer shall:
issue a final written decision and order that incorporates the terms of the stipulation; or
order the matter to be rescheduled for a hearing by an Administrative Hearing Officer, if the stipulation is not acceptable to the Administrative Hearing Officer.
During hearing. If the stipulation is entered into during the course of a hearing and if an Administrative Hearing Officer approves the stipulation, it shall be incorporated into an Administrative Hearing Officer's written decision and order.
Administrative hearing officer to prepare. An Administrative Hearing Officer shall prepare a written decision and order within thirty (30) days of the completion of a hearing.
Decision. An Administrative Hearing Officer's written decision shall set forth:
finding of fact and conclusions of law; and
the Administrative Hearing Officer's reasons for its findings on all material issues.
Order. If an Administrative Hearing Officer finds that the charges in an administrative citation should be upheld, the Administrative Hearing Officer shall prepare a written order that sets forth:
the penalty; and
the remedial relief or sanctions, if authorized by law to impose such remedial relief or other sanctions.
Filing. The decision and order shall be filed with the Administrative Hearing Unit and properly served on all parties.
Finality. If a timely application for reconsideration is not filed under Section 13-1128 of the Prince George's County Code, the Administrative Hearing Officer's recommended decision and order:
shall be adopted by the Administrative Hearing Unit, without further action; and
constitutes the Administrative Hearing Unit 's final action in the matter.