Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 21 - Law And Justice › Part 201 - Rules of the Mississippi Ethics Commission › Chapter 6 - Ethics Hearings › Rule 21-201-6.6 - Discovery

Current through June 25, 2024
Subject to the exceptions set forth below, if either party
				  requests discovery, the party opposite must disclose and permit the requesting
				  party to inspect, copy, test, and photograph upon written request and without
				  the necessity of an order by the hearing officer the following which is in the
				  possession, custody, or control of the party opposite, the existence of which
				  is known or by the exercise of due diligence may become known to the party
				  opposite:
A. Names and addresses of all
				witnesses in chief proposed to be offered by the party at trial, together with
				a copy of the contents of any statement, written, recorded or otherwise
				preserved of each such witness and the substance of any oral statement made by
				any such witness;
B. Copy of any
				written or recorded statement of the respondent and the substance of any oral
				statement made by the respondent;
C. Copy of the criminal record of the
				respondent, if proposed to be used to impeach;
D. Any reports, statements, or opinions of
				experts, written, recorded or otherwise preserved, made in connection with the
				particular case and the substance of any oral statement made by any such
				expert;
E. Any physical evidence
				and photographs relevant to the case or which may be offered in evidence;
				and
F. Any exculpatory material
				concerning the respondent.
The hearing officer may limit or deny disclosure authorized
				  herein if he or she finds that there is a substantial risk to any person of
				  physical harm, intimidation, economic reprisals, or unnecessary annoyance or
				  embarrassment, resulting from such disclosure, which outweighs any usefulness
				  of the disclosure to the requesting party. Disclosure shall not be required of
				  legal research or of records, correspondence, reports, or memoranda which
				  contain the opinions, theories, or conclusions of either party's attorneys or
				  members of legal staff.
Both the commission and the respondent have a duty to timely
				  supplement discovery. If, subsequent to compliance with these rules or orders
				  pursuant thereto, a party discovers additional material or information which is
				  subject to disclosure, that party shall promptly notify the other party or the
				  other party's attorney of the existence of such additional material, and if the
				  additional material or information is discovered during a hearing, the hearing
				  officer shall also be notified.
The attorney receiving materials on discovery is responsible
				  for those materials and shall not distribute them to third parties. Upon a
				  showing of cause, the hearing officer may at any time order that specified
				  disclosures be restricted or deferred, or make such other order as is
				  appropriate, provided that all material and information to which a party is
				  entitled must be disclosed in time to permit the party's attorney to make
				  beneficial use thereof.
When some parts of certain material are discoverable under
				  these rules, and other parts are not discoverable, as much of the material
				  should be disclosed as is consistent with the rules. Material excised or
				  redacted pursuant to judicial order or order of the hearing officer shall be
				  sealed and preserved in the records of the hearing officer, to be made
				  available to the circuit court in the event of an appeal.
In the event there are matters arguably within the scope of a
				  party's discovery request or an order for discovery, and the opposing party is
				  of the opinion that the requesting party is not entitled to discovery of same,
				  the opposing party shall, as soon as is reasonably practicable, file with the
				  hearing officer a written statement describing the nature of the information or
				  the materials at issue as fully as is reasonably possible without disclosure of
				  same and stating the grounds for objection to disclosure. Subject to the
				  limitations otherwise provided in these rules, determinations such as whether
				  the matters requested in discovery are relevant to the case, exculpatory,
				  possible instruments of impeachment, and the like, may be made only by the
				  party requesting or to receive the discovery.
Upon request of any person, the hearing officer may permit
				  any showing of cause for denial or regulation of disclosures, or portion of
				  such showing, to be made in camera. A record shall be made of such proceedings.
				  If the hearing officer enters an order granting relief following a hearing in
				  camera, the entire record of such hearing shall be sealed and preserved in the
				  records of the hearing officer, to be made available to the circuit court in
				  the event of an appeal.
If at any time prior to a hearing on the merits it is brought
				  to the attention of the hearing officer that a party has failed to comply with
				  an applicable discovery rule or an order issued pursuant thereto, the hearing
				  officer may order such party to permit the discovery of material and
				  information not previously disclosed, grant a continuance, or enter such other
				  order as he or she deems just under the circumstances.
If during the course of a hearing on the merits, either party
				  attempts to introduce evidence which has not been timely disclosed to the
				  opposing party as required by these rules, and the opposing party objects to
				  the introduction for that reason, the hearing officer shall act as
				  follows:
A. Grant the opposing party a
				reasonable opportunity to interview the newly discovered witness, to examine
				the newly produced documents, photographs or other evidence; and
B. If, after such opportunity, the opposing
				party claims unfair surprise or undue prejudice and seeks a continuance or
				mistrial, the hearing officer shall, in the interest of justice and absent
				unusual circumstances, exclude the evidence or grant a continuance for a period
				of time reasonably necessary for the opposing party to meet the non-disclosed
				evidence.
The hearing officer shall not be required to grant a
				  continuance for such a discovery violation if the party attempting to introduce
				  such evidence withdraws its efforts to introduce the evidence.
Willful violation by an attorney or party of an applicable
				  discovery rule or an order issued pursuant thereto may subject the attorney or
				  party to appropriate sanctions by the hearing officer.