Okla. Admin. Code § 75:45-2-2

Current through Vol. 42, No. 8, January 2, 2025

Section 75:45-2-2 - Administrative Hearings Division and Administrative Law Judge

(a)Appointments. The Attorney General may appoint administrative law judges as needed.

(b)Administrative Hearings Division. The court setting for all hearings and matters considered by administrative law judges appointed by the Attorney General shall be conducted in a forum known as the Administrative Hearings Division.

(c)Session hours. Unless otherwise ordered by the assigned administrative law judge, the morning sessions shall begin at 9:00 a.m. and close at 12:00 noon, and the afternoon sessions shall begin at 1:30 p.m. and close at 4:30 p.m.

(d)Assigned administrative law judge. An administrative law judge shall have complete authority to conduct the proceedings and may take any action not inconsistent with the provisions of the rules of this Chapter or of the APA for the maintenance of order at hearings and for the expeditious, fair, and impartial conduct of the proceedings. The assigned administrative law judge has the discretion to waive, supplement, or modify any requirement of the applicable law or rule of procedure where permitted by law and when the administration of justice requires. The assigned administrative law judge may also:

(1) arrange and issue notice of the date, time and place of hearings and conferences;

(2) establish the methods and procedures to be used in the presentation of the evidence;

(3) hold conferences to settle, simplify, determine, or strike any of the issues in a hearing, or to consider other matters that may facilitate the expeditious disposition of the hearing;

(4) administer oaths and affirmations;

(5) regulate the course of the hearing and govern the conduct of participants;

(6) examine witnesses;

(7) rule on, admit, exclude and limit evidence;

(8) establish the time for filing motions, testimony, and other written evidence, briefs, findings, and other submissions, and hold the record open for such purposes;

(9) rule on motions and other pending procedural matters; and

(10) divide the hearing into stages or combine interests of parties whenever the number of parties is large or the issues are numerous and complex.

(e)Hearing Clerk. The Hearing Clerk is the person designated by the Attorney General to assist the Chief Administrative Law Judge and maintain the administrative hearing files and dockets within the Office of Administrative Hearings.

(f)Ex parte communications. Communication with the assigned administrative law judge or their office regarding scheduling and procedural matters is permitted. A lawyer shall have no ex parte communication on the substance of a pending matter or proceeding with the assigned administrative law judge.

(g)Disqualification of Administrative Law Judge.

(1) The administrative law judge shall withdraw from any proceeding in which they cannot accord a fair and impartial hearing or consideration, stating on the record the reasons therefore, and shall immediately notify all parties of the withdrawal.

(2) Any party may file a motion requesting the administrative law judge withdraw on the basis of personal bias or other disqualification and specifically setting forth the reasons for the request. This motion shall be filed as soon as the party has reason to believe there is a basis for the disqualification. The administrative law judge shall rule on the motion and make a recommendation to the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall review the recommendation of the administrative law judge and make a final determination on disqualification.

Okla. Admin. Code § 75:45-2-2

Adopted by Oklahoma Register, Volume 41, Issue 21, July 15, 2024, eff. 7/25/2024