Current through Vol. 41, No. 13, March 15, 2024
(a) Conduct of the
hearings. The Hearing Officer shall conduct the hearing to obtain accurate
information upon which an informed decision can be reached.
(1) At the beginning of the hearing, the
Hearing Officer shall ascertain that:
(A)
notice of the hearing, including the time, date and location of the hearing,
and a copy of the Application to Revoke Parole or for Administrative Transfer
Hearing (ATH), were given to the juvenile, the parent, guardian or legal
custodian, and legal counsel at least 24 hours before the hearing;
and
(B) legal counsel is present to
represent the juvenile and has been given an opportunity to prepare a
defense.
(2) Only an
attorney who is licensed to practice law in the State of Oklahoma shall be
permitted to represent a juvenile.
(3) Persons attending the hearing are limited
to those persons necessary for the orderly and fair conduct of the hearing.
Hearings are conducted with a concern for privacy.
(4) Requests for continuances from any of the
parties may be granted only at the discretion of the Hearing Officer. Due
consideration shall be given to:
(A) the
timeliness of the request;
(B) the
justification;
(C) convenience to
the interested parties;
(D)
problems with continued detention; and
(E) the Hearing Officer's schedule.
(5) The Hearing Officer may
exclude any participant from the hearing for good cause. The Hearing Officer
shall state the reasons for exclusion on the record at the time it is made.
However, the attorney for the juvenile and the representative of the agency
shall be present continuously while the hearing is in progress.
(6) The Hearing Officer may recess the
hearing at the request of either party or at his/her own initiative for a brief
period of time as necessary to facilitate the hearing process. The Hearing
Officer shall state for the record:
(A) the
reasons for the recess;
(B) the
time the recess began; and
(C) the
time the recess ended.
(7) The first presenter shall be a
representative of OJA. The presenter shall carry the burden of proof that the
juvenile violated conditions of parole or supervised community
placement.
(8) The juvenile and
legal counsel shall be present while evidence is being presented. The
juvenile's parent, guardian or legal custodian may be present at all times the
juvenile is present, unless they are the adverse parties by the nature of the
violations alleged.
(9) Either
party or the Hearing Officer may invoke the "Rule of Sequestration". When the
"Rule" is invoked, the Hearing Officer shall instruct all witnesses that they
are to be sequestered from the hearing room, called in the order in which they
are expected to testify, and are not to discuss their testimony with other
witnesses.
(10) Harassment or
intimidation of witnesses is not permitted.
(11) The application may be dismissed at the
request of the OJA representative prior to the Hearing Officer's recommendation
to sustain or deny the application.
(12) Prior to commencement of the hearing, no
one shall be permitted to discuss with the Hearing Officer any facts related to
issues of the hearing.
(b)
Evidence. The Hearing
Officer shall screen all evidence for its material value to the issues of the
hearing.
(1) Hearsay evidence is considered
only in light of its reliability, relevancy, necessity, and probative value.
Generally, the more the information is removed from its source, the less weight
it should be given. The Hearing Officer may not base a decision substantially
upon hearsay evidence.
(2) Relevant
evidence is admissible. Evidence is relevant if it has a tendency to prove or
disprove any disputed fact issue before the Hearing Officer.
(3) The Hearing Officer shall take official
notice of any fact that the courts may judicially notice and of those matters
within the Hearing Officer's particular field of expertise, including policies
and procedures of the agency.
(4)
Written material may be introduced during the course of the hearing by either
the juvenile's legal counsel or the representative of the OJA.
(c)
Fact-finding standards
and hearing sequence.
(1) A Hearing
Officer must find by a preponderance of the evidence that:
(A) the allegations are true; and
(B) revocation or transfer is warranted under
the circumstances.
(2) A
preponderance of the evidence means that the evidence indicates that the facts
to be proved are:
(A) credible; and
(B) more probable than not.
(3) Upon the conclusion of the
hearing, the Hearing Officer may recommend that the Application to Revoke
Parole or for Administrative Transfer be sustained based upon a preponderance
of the evidence. The Hearing Officer shall advise the juvenile and legal
counsel of the recommendation and the appeal process.
(4) The Hearing Officer shall prepare a
written recommendation within three (3) working days (excluding weekends and
holidays) of the hearing as to whether the juvenile's parole should be revoked
or placement should be administratively transferred. The report must include
the allegation(s), the finding(s) of fact, and mitigating circumstances, if
any. The Hearing Officer shall submit the report to the Parole Administrator to
submit to the Parole Board.
(d)
Parole Board review. The
Parole Board shall review the recommendation of the Hearing Officer and the
entire record of the hearing and either grant or deny the application to revoke
parole or administrative transfer in writing.
(e)
Distribution. The Parole
Administrator shall send written copies of the final decision and a copy of the
written recommendation of the Hearing Officer to the juvenile, the juvenile's
parent, guardian or legal custodian, legal counsel, the JSU, and the court in
the county wherein the violations occurred within ten (10) working days
(excluding weekends and holidays) following the hearing.
(f)
Appeal. A juvenile may
appeal the decision of the Parole Board to the Executive Director who has final
review authority. The appeal must be filed by the juvenile within ten (10) days
(excluding weekends and holidays) after receipt of the Parole Board's decision.
The Executive Director shall inform all involved parties of the appeal decision
within ten (10) days (excluding weekends and holidays).
(g)
Recordings. Recordings of
revocation hearings shall be preserved for six (6) months from the date of the
hearing or as otherwise required by law.
(h)
Expungement. If the
Application for Revocation of Parole or Administrative Transfer is denied by
the Parole Board or the Executive Director, OJA shall expunge all materials
related to the alleged offense from the juvenile's case record.
Added at 22 Ok Reg 2071, eff 7-1-05 ; Amended at 24 Ok Reg
1398, eff 7-1-07 ; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 2246, eff 7-1-09 ; Amended at 30 Ok Reg
706, eff 6-1-13
