Current through February 26, 2024
(1) SCOPE. Hearings shall be open to the
public and limited to the litigation of and oral argument on issues of fact or
law raised by the parties and remaining for disposition. The commission or
examiner conducting the hearing shall inquire fully into all matters in issue,
to obtain a full and complete record upon which the duties of the commission
may be properly performed.
(2) BY
WHOM CONDUCTED. The hearing shall be conducted by an examiner assigned by the
commission unless the commission decides to hear the case.
(3) RIGHTS OF PARTIES AT HEARING.
(a)
Opportunity to be heard.
Any party shall have the right to appear in person or by counsel or by any
other representative to present the case by oral, documentary, or other
evidence, and to conduct cross examination. Any party shall be entitled, on
request, to a reasonable period for oral argument at an appropriate time during
the hearing and to submit closing arguments in writing within a time period
after the hearing specified for that purpose by the commission or
examiner.
(b)
Effect of
failure to appear. Unless good cause is shown, any party failing to
appear and participate after due notice waives the rights listed in par. (a),
except the right to submit closing arguments in writing within a time period
after the hearing specified for that purpose by the commission or examiner, and
shall not later introduce any evidence. The commission or examiner may rely on
the record as made at the hearing.
(c)
Impartiality. Parties
have the right to have their case heard and decided by impartial individuals.
Commission members and examiners shall recuse themselves from participation in
proceedings which they are or become incapable of hearing or deciding without
evident partiality or the appearance of partiality. Parties have the right to
request by motion, on grounds of lack of impartiality, that a commission member
or examiner voluntarily recuse himself or herself from participation in a
proceeding. The filing of a recusal request does not necessarily require that
the commission member or examiner recuse himself or herself from further
participation in the proceeding. Parties dissatisfied with the commission
member or examiner's response to a recusal request have the right to request by
motion, on grounds of a lack of impartiality, that the commission remove the
commission member or examiner from participation in a
proceeding.
(4) POWERS OF
COMMISSION OR EXAMINER CONDUCTING HEARING. Subject to this chapter, the
commission or examiner conducting a hearing may take the following action:
(a) Administer oaths and
affirmations.
(b) Issue subpoenas
in the name of the commission.
(c)
Rule on offers of proof, receive relevant evidence and exclude irrelevant,
immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence.
(d) Question witnesses.
(e) Take or cause depositions to be taken and
to determine their scope.
(f)
Regulate the time, place and course of the hearing.
(g) Dispose of procedural requests or other
similar matters.
(h) During the
course of the hearing, hold conferences for the settlement, simplification or
adjustment of the issues by consent of the parties.
(i) Take any other action necessary under the
foregoing or authorized by law.
(5) TRANSCRIPTS; TRANSCRIPT CORRECTIONS.
Hearings shall be stenographically transcribed by a commission-selected
reporter. Any party requesting the commission to provide a transcript of a
commission proceeding shall pay the fee specified in s.
ERC
10.08(6). Corrections of the official
transcript may be made by stipulation or motion when they involve errors
affecting substance. When corrections are ordered, the necessary physical
corrections shall be made in the official transcript.
(6) EVIDENCE.
(a)
Stipulations of fact.
Stipulations of fact may be introduced in evidence with respect to any
issue.
(b)
Witnesses. Except as provided in s.
ERC 18.06(2)
(b), witnesses shall be examined orally under
oath at the hearing.
(c)
Rules of evidence. Hearings in proceedings under this chapter
shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of evidence and official notice
provided in s. 227.45, Stats. That section
provides, in part, that the commission or examiner shall not be bound by common
law or statutory rules of evidence; shall admit all testimony having reasonable
probative value; shall exclude immaterial, irrelevant or unduly repetitious
testimony or evidence that is inadmissible under s.
901.05, Stats.; and shall give
effect to rules of privilege recognized by law. Basic principles of relevancy,
materiality and probative force shall govern the proof of all questions of
fact. Objections to evidentiary offers and offers of proof of evidence not
admitted may be made and shall be noted in the record.
(d)
Compelling witness attendance or
evidence production at hearing. The commission or examiner or a
party's attorney of record may issue a subpoena to compel the attendance of a
witness or the production of evidence at the hearing.
1. 'Subpoenas issued by commission or
examiner.' The commission or examiner may issue a subpoena at the request of a
party or on the commission's or examiner's own motion. In advance of the time
set in the subpoena for attendance, each witness who appears by subpoena shall
receive for attendance the fees and mileage provided for witnesses in civil
cases in courts of record in s.
814.67, Stats. The service of
the subpoena and the payment of the witness and mileage fee shall be the
responsibility of the party, if any, requesting the subpoena or of the
commission if the subpoena was issued on the commission's or examiner's own
motion.
2. 'Subpoenas issued by a
party's attorney of record.' A subpoena issued by an attorney shall be in
substantially the same form as provided in s.
805.07(4),
Stats., and shall be served in the manner provided in s.
805.07(5),
Stats., including payment of attendance fees and mileage provided for witnesses
in civil cases in courts of record in s.
814.67, Stats. The attorney
shall, at the time of issuance, send a copy of the subpoena to the commission
or examiner.
3. 'Enforcement of
subpoenas.' Any person who shall willfully and unlawfully fail or neglect to
appear or testify or to produce books, papers and records as required by a
subpoena issued under subds. 1. or 2., shall, on commission application to a
circuit court, be ordered to appear before the commission or examiner, to
testify or produce evidence if so ordered, and failure to obey the order of the
court may be punished by the court as a contempt of court. Any party may, by
motion, request that the commission enforce a subpoena by application to a
circuit court.
(7) OBJECTIONS. Any objection with respect to
the conduct of the hearing, including any objection to the introduction of
evidence, shall be stated orally with a short statement of the grounds of the
objection and included in the transcript of the hearing. An objection is not
waived by the objecting party's further participation in the hearing.
(8) CLOSE OF EVIDENCE. Once the commission or
examiner declares the taking of evidence completed, no additional evidence may
be submitted except on motion for good cause.
(9) WRITTEN CLOSING ARGUMENTS. Any party
shall be entitled, on request made before the close of the evidence, to file a
written brief within a time period set by the commission or examiner. The
filing of briefs may also be directed on the commission's or examiner's own
motion when warranted by the nature of the proceeding or particular
issues.
(10) WAIVER OF PROCEDURES.
The parties to any proceeding, with the approval of the commission or examiner,
may agree to waive any one or more of the procedural steps or decisions which
would otherwise precede the issuance by the commission or examiner of a final
order or other final disposition.
(11) SANCTIONS FOR DISRUPTIVE OR CONTEMPTUOUS
CONDUCT.
(a)
Sanctions. If a
party, representative or other person, without reasonable excuse, fails to
cease engaging in disruptive or contemptuous conduct in connection with a
proceeding after being directed to do so by the commission or examiner, the
commission or examiner may take any action authorized by s.
227.46(1),
Stats., and appropriate in relation to the disruptive or contemptuous
conduct.
(b)
Opportunity to
show cause. Before issuing a sanctions order in writing or orally on
the record, the examiner or commission shall provide the affected party,
representative or other person a reasonable opportunity to show cause why the
proposed sanctions order should not be issued.