(a) A hearing will be presided over by a Hearing Officer, proceed with reasonable expedition and order and, to the extent practicable, not be postponed or adjourned.
(b) Language assistance services at the hearing.
(1) At the beginning of any hearing, the Hearing Officer will advise the Respondent of the availability of language assistance services. In determining whether language assistance services are necessary to assist the Respondent in communicating meaningfully with the Hearing Officer and others at the hearing, the Hearing Officer will consider all relevant factors, including but not limited to the following:
(i) information from Tribunal administrative personnel identifying a Respondent as requiring language assistance services to communicate meaningfully with a Hearing Officer;
(ii) a request by the Respondent for language assistance services; and
(iii) even if language assistance services were not requested by the Respondent, the Hearing Officer's own assessment whether language assistance services are necessary to enable meaningful communication with the Respondent.
If the Respondent requests an interpreter and the Hearing Officer determines that an interpreter is not needed, that determination and the basis for the determination will be made on the record.
(2) When required, language assistance services will be provided at hearings by a professional interpretation service that is made available by the Tribunal. If the professional interpretation service is not available for that language, the Respondent may request the use of another interpreter, in which case the Hearing Officer in his or her discretion may use the Respondent's requested interpreter. In exercising that discretion, the Hearing Officer will take into account all relevant factors, including but not limited to the following:
(i) the apparent skills of the Respondent's requested interpreter;
(ii) whether the Respondent's requested interpreter is a child under the age of eighteen (18);
(iii) minimization of delay in the hearing process;
(iv) maintenance of a clear and usable hearing record; and
(v) whether the Respondent's requested interpreter is a potential witness who may testify at the hearing.
The Hearing Officer's determination and the basis for this determination will be made on the record.
(c) When a party appears on more than one (1) summons on a single hearing day, the Tribunal has the discretion to determine the order in which the summonses will be heard.
(d) Each party has the right to present evidence, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, to make factual or legal arguments and to have other rights essential for due process and a fair and impartial hearing. Witnesses may be excluded from the hearing room, except while they are actually testifying.
(e) Oaths. All persons giving testimony as witnesses at a hearing must be placed under oath or affirmation.
(f) All adjudicatory hearings will proceed in the following order, subject to modification by the Hearing Officer:
(1) Presentation and argument of motions preliminary to a hearing on the merits;
(2) Petitioner's opening statement, if any;
(3) Respondent's opening statement, if any;
(4) Petitioner's case in chief;
(5) Respondent's case in chief;
(6) Petitioner's case in rebuttal;
(7) Respondent's case in rebuttal;
(8) Respondent's closing argument;
(9) Petitioner's closing argument.
(g) A record will be made of all summonses filed, proceedings held, written evidence admitted and rulings rendered, and such record will be kept in the regular course of business for a period of time in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Hearings will be mechanically, electronically or otherwise recorded by the Tribunal under the supervision of the Hearing Officer, and the original recording will be part of the record and will constitute the sole official record of the hearing. No other recording or photograph of the hearing may be made without prior written permission of the Tribunal. A copy of the recording will be provided upon request to the Tribunal. The Tribunal may charge a reasonable fee in accordance with Article 6 of the New York State Public Officers Law.
(h) Unless permitted or ordered by the Hearing Officer, parties are prohibited from submitting additional material or argument after the hearing has been completed.
(Amended City Record 6/1/2015, eff. 7/1/2015; amended City Record 7/8/2016, eff. 8/7/2016)