(1)
Rescheduling by the Board. The Board may change the
date, time, or place of the classification hearing. The Board shall send
written notification of any changes to the parties.
(2)
Sex Offender's Request to
Reschedule Prior to the Hearing Date.
(a) No later than three business days before
a scheduled hearing, the offender may request, in writing, that his or her
hearing be rescheduled. The written request must include an affidavit and
supporting documentation explaining the reason(s) for the request to reschedule
the hearing. A request to reschedule a hearing filed without a supporting
affidavit or documentation will be denied.
(b) The Director of the Hearings Unit, or his
or her designee, shall rule on all requests to reschedule hearings.
(c) In evaluating a sex offender's request to
reschedule the hearing, the Board may consider such reasons as the following:
1. The amount of advance notice the sex
offender had of the hearing date;
2. The reasons or circumstances provided in
the affidavit;
3. The sex offender
or his or her authorized representative's ability to anticipate the
circumstances which resulted in the request to reschedule his or her
hearing;
4. Delay by the sex
offender in notifying the Board of his or her inability to attend the hearing;
and
5. The number of previous
requests to reschedule the hearing and the reasons provided in those previous
requests.
(d) A request
to reschedule a hearing based on a scheduling conflict of the sex offender's
attorney will not be granted unless the attorney provides an affidavit
identifying the following: case name, court and docket number, and the date the
court issued its order requiring the attorney to appear.
(e) A request to reschedule a hearing based
on the unavailability of a witness will not be granted unless the witness's
absence was unforeseeable and the offender or his or her authorized
representative demonstrates that his testimony is necessary for a fair hearing.
Except as provided for in
803 CMR
1.17, the Hearing Examiner may grant leave to
allow the witness, within a reasonable time, to submit written documents in
lieu of live testimony.
(3)
Incarcerated and Civilly
Committed Sex Offenders. In addition to the reasons provided in
803 CMR 1.11(2) in evaluating the sex offender's request to reschedule hearing,
the Board shall also consider the following:
(a) The sex offender's anticipated release
date;
(b) Whether the sex offender
has sought parole and status of his or her parole hearing;
(c) Whether the sex offender has filed a
petition for discharge pursuant to M.G. L. c. 123A, § 9 and status of that
petition; or
(d) Any other
information relevant to the sex offender's anticipated release.
(4)
Allowance of the
Request to Reschedule the Hearing. If the Board approves the
request to reschedule the hearing, the sex offender shall be notified in
writing of the new date, time, and location of the hearing. The Board may
provide this notice less than 30 calendar days before the rescheduled hearing
date.
(5)
Denial of the
Request to Reschedule the Hearing. In denying the sex offender's
request to reschedule, the Board shall provide, in writing, its reason for
denying the motion. The hearing will go forward as scheduled pursuant to 803
CMR. 1.10.
