Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 55 - PUBLIC SAFETY › Part III - Motor Vehicles › Chapter 2 - Administrative Procedure › Section III-201 - Suspension, Revocation or Cancellation of License, Administrative Hearings

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. The following
				administrative regulations shall apply to all hearings conducted under the
				statutory authority of the secretary of the Department of Public Safety and
				Corrections and which concern matters arising out of actions taken by the state
				police or the Office of Motor Vehicles.
1.
				Renewal. All administrative hearings shall be public and shall be conducted in
				accordance with the provisions of the Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act
				(R.S.
				49:950 et seq.) and the rules set forth
				herein.
2. Control of Hearings. All
				administrative hearings will be conducted and controlled by an administrative
				law judge or the chief administrative law judge.
3. Notice. The Secretary of Public Safety
				Services or his representative shall give notice of the time and place of all
				administrative hearings not less than 10 days in advance of the hearing date.
				He shall give such notice to all persons whose pecuniary interest is to be
				directly and immediately affected by such hearing.
4. Mailing Address. The notice of hearing
				shall be mailed to the party requesting the hearing at the last known address
				provided to the department.
5.
				Assignment of Hearing; Discovery; Expert Witnesses
a. Each hearing shall be assigned for a
				specific time, date and place to an individual administrative law
				judge.
b. Except for implied
				consent cases, discovery may be obtained by written agreement between the
				parties, provided that such discovery does not interfere with or postpone a
				scheduled hearing date. Due to the time constraints placed by law on suspension
				of driver's licenses, discovery in implied consent hearings will be confined to
				inspection or copying of the documents in the prima facie case presented by the
				state. Any interested person may inspect or copy any documents in the case file
				after it has been supplied to the presiding administrative law judge.
				Otherwise, documents may be inspected or copied by request made to any other
				section within the department upon compliance with the rules of that section.
				Copies may be made by means of any copying device supplied by the person
				desiring copies.
c. Expert
				witnesses may be subpoenaed at the request of any party upon receipt of a money
				order, cashier's check or attorney check, made payable in the name of each
				expert witness in whatever amount has been agreed to between the party
				requesting the subpoena and the witness. The request to subpoena the expert
				witness should accompany the request for the hearing, but in any case must be
				made in writing addressed to the Administrative Hearing Section, postmarked or
				received at least 15 days prior to the date fixed for hearing, and must provide
				the full name and address of the witness to whom the subpoena is to be
				directed, plus a summary of the opinion testimony expected to be
				adduced.
d. The administrative law
				judge shall evaluate the qualifications of the witness prior to being accepted
				as an expert and prior to any testimony being taken.
6. Summary Disposition
a. At any time after scheduling, a written
				request may be filed by any interested party for summary disposition thereof on
				any of the following grounds:
i. that the
				administrative law judge lacks jurisdiction over the subject matter, or over
				the person against whom relief is sought;
ii. that the notice of hearing has not been
				made in the required manner or within the prescribed period of delay;
iii. that the action has become
				moot;
iv. that a party has failed
				to appear at the time fixed for hearing, without having been granted a
				continuance;
v. that the written
				notice of hearing expressing the cause of action does not constitute a ground
				for revocation or suspension.
b. Any request for summary disposition, when
				made prior to the date fixed for hearing, may be supported by admissions of
				fact and written argument or briefs.
c. If the administrative law judge conducting
				the hearing denies the request or refers it to the merits, he may reconsider
				same at any time prior to final disposition of the action.
d. The administrative law judge conducting
				the hearing may, at any time summarily dispose of an appeal or action on any of
				the grounds listed in Paragraph 1 above.
7. Location of Hearings. The hearings shall
				be conducted in a place convenient and accessible to the public, selected by
				the secretary. With the consent of the secretary, his representative, the chief
				administrative law judge or the administrative law judge, the parties may agree
				to any place of public accessibility within the state of Louisiana for any
				hearing.
8. Continuance or
				Reschedule of Hearings
a. Once a hearing has
				begun, it may be continued without prejudice to either party:
i. by the secretary or the chief
				administrative law judge upon submission of justification deemed adequate by
				them;
ii. by the administrative law
				judge conducting the hearing for cause deemed sufficient at that time;
				or
iii. if time does not permit
				completion of the hearing on the scheduled date.
b. A hearing may, when proven necessary, be
				rescheduled by the administrative law judge, with the approval of the chief
				administrative law judge.
c. No
				continuances of scheduled administrative hearings shall be granted except for
				compelling cause or to serve the ends of justice.
9. Representation of Parties. All parties
				shall have the right to be represented by counsel, but shall not be required to
				be so represented. Any such counsel representing a party to an administrative
				hearing must be duly licensed to practice law in the state of Louisiana. When
				any party is represented by more than one attorney in any hearing, only one
				attorney for any such party shall be permitted to examine the same
				witness.
10. Evidence. The
				admissibility of evidence submitted at any administrative hearing shall be
				governed by the Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act (R.S.
				49:950 et seq.). Departmental records,
				papers, documents and other written exhibits may be offered in evidence at the
				hearing by either a representative of the agency involved or by documentary
				submission by the agency involved. All such evidence shall be available for
				inspection by all parties. All testimony adduced at the administrative hearing
				will be recorded and shall be taken under oath.
11. Written Statements. Affidavits or other
				ex-parte statements may be received in evidence in an administrative hearing;
				however, all parties shall be given an opportunity to inspect such statements
				prior to their admission into the record.
12. Stipulation. The parties may be required
				by the administrative law judge to stipulate to any or all undisputed
				facts.
13. Corroboration. The
				presentation of corroborative evidence may be limited by the administrative law
				judge conducting the hearing in the event same is merely repetitive or
				relevant.
14. Sequestration. The
				administrative law judge conducting the administrative hearing, whether or not
				at the request of any party, may order that the witnesses in any such hearing
				be sequestered so as to preclude any witness from hearing the testimony of any
				other witness.
15. Oral Argument.
				The administrative law judge conducting the hearing may limit the total time to
				be allowed for oral argument, according to the circumstances of each case.
				Except with special leave, only one attorney may be permitted to present oral
				argument for any party to an administrative hearing. Any party may request
				leave of the administrative law judge to submit written arguments at the
				conclusion of a hearing within a time limit to be specified by the
				administrative law judge. A copy of all such written arguments must be served
				on all parties, or on their counsel, and shall be certified by the
				writer.
16. Subpoena of Witnesses
				and Production of Documents
a. The
				administrative law judge, chief administrative law judge, the secretary or his
				representative shall have the power to compel the appearance of witnesses and
				the production of documents, books and papers pertinent to the issues involved
				in any administrative hearing, provided such witnesses, documents, books and
				papers are within the state of Louisiana.
b. Any party desiring the issuance of a
				subpoena for any witness at an administrative hearing must apply for it in
				writing properly addressed to the Administrative Hearing Section, postmarked or
				received at least 15 days prior to the date fixed for the hearing and must
				provide the full name and address of the witness to whom the subpoena is to be
				directed, specifying the purpose for which such witness is subpoenaed. Each
				such request must be accompanied by a money order, certified check or check
				drawn on the account of an attorney made payable to the order of the witness
				whose presence is requested in the amount of $15 for each witness who is not a
				law enforcement officer or $25 for each witness who is a law enforcement
				officer for issuing said subpoenas.
c. Any party desiring the production of
				books, papers or other documents at any administrative hearing must apply for
				an appropriate order in writing properly addressed to the Administrative
				Hearing Section, and postmarked or received at least 15 days prior to the date
				fixed for the hearing. Such application must describe the items to be produced
				in sufficient detail for identification and must give the full name and address
				of the person required to make such production, and must state briefly the
				purposes for which the items are being subpoenaed. All such requests must be
				accompanied by a money order, certified check or check drawn on the account of
				an attorney made payable to the department in the amount of $15 for each person
				or entity which is requested to produce said documents at the
				hearing.
d. Authentic copies of
				books, papers or other documents in the custody of any department, board or
				agency of the state, or any subdivision thereof, which have been subpoenaed may
				be admitted in evidence with the same effect as the originals.
e. The administrative law judge, chief
				administrative law judge, the secretary or his representative, for cause deemed
				sufficient, may issue an appropriate order at any time recalling any subpoena,
				subpoena duces tecum or request issued under the provisions of this
				rule.
f. No subpoena or subpoena
				duces tecum or request for production of documents shall be issued until the
				party who requests the subpoena of said documents first deposits with the
				department a sum of money sufficient to pay all of the fees and expenses of
				issuing said subpoenas set forth in Subparagraphs b and c above.
17. Non-Appearance. If a party
				fails to appear at the place and time fixed for any hearing, the hearing may be
				dismissed or the administrative law judge conducting said hearing may, in his
				discretion, continue the case or proceed with the hearing and render a decision
				upon such evidence as may be adduced at said hearing.
18. Interlocutory Ruling
a. Formal exceptions to any interlocutory
				rulings or orders are unnecessary if, at the time the ruling is made or the
				order is communicated, the party objecting shall make known via objection and
				the grounds therefor on the record.
b. The administrative law judge conducting
				the administrative hearing may at any time prior to a final decision, recall,
				reverse or revise any interlocutory ruling or order made in connection with the
				hearing.
19. Decision.
				Within a reasonable time following the conclusion of an administrative hearing,
				the administrative law judge shall make a written decision containing findings
				of fact and conclusions of law. The decision of the administrative law judge
				shall be final 10 days after the date of the notice of decision by the
				department, unless a timely request for rehearing, reopening or reconsideration
				is received. Copies shall be furnished to all interested parties.
20. Rehearings
a. Any administrative decision rendered shall
				be subject to reopening, rehearing or reconsideration by written application to
				the Department of Public Safety and Corrections postmarked or received within
				10 days from the date of mailing of the notice of decision by the department.
				The grounds for any such rehearing, reopening or reconsideration shall be
				either that:
i. the decision is clearly
				contrary to the law and the evidence adduced;
ii. a party has discovered, since the
				hearing, evidence material to the issues presented which could not have, with
				due diligence, been obtained prior to the hearing;
iii. there is a convincing showing that
				issues not previously considered should be examined in order to properly
				dispose of the issues raised; or
iv. there are other good grounds for further
				reconsideration of the issues and the evidence, in the public
				interest.
b. A
				rehearing, reopening or reconsideration of an administrative hearing may be
				granted only by the chief administrative law judge, the secretary or his
				representative.
c. An application
				for a rehearing, reconsideration or re-opening shall set forth the grounds
				which justify such action. Nothing in this Section shall prevent a rehearing,
				reopening or reconsideration of a matter by the department in accordance with
				any statutory provisions applicable, or on account of any fraud practiced by
				the prevailing party or by the use of perjured testimony or fictitious
				evidence. Any hearing upon an application for reconsideration, rehearing or
				reopening shall be strictly confined to the issues raised in such application.
				If an application for reconsideration, rehearing or reopening has been denied,
				the period within which judicial review must be sought shall run from the date
				of the notice of denial.
21. Appeal Costs. In all instances where
				judicial review of a final decision is sought by a party from any
				administrative hearing, the secretary shall require the party appealing to
				deposit with the Department of Public Safety and Corrections all costs of
				preparing a transcript of the hearing. The cost of the transcript shall be the
				sum of $50 per recorded side of each standard cassette utilized in recording
				the hearing. These costs must be paid by the appellant-party before preparation
				of the transcript will be requested by the department.
22. Recusation. The administrative law judge
				conducting an administrative hearing shall withdraw from any adjudicative
				proceeding in which he cannot accord a fair and impartial hearing or other
				consideration or which he has a conflict of interest. Any party may request a
				disqualification of such administrative law judge by filing an affidavit
				setting forth the succinct grounds therefor. Said application for
				disqualification may be determined ex-parte by the chief administrative law
				judge or the secretary or, may be determined at a hearing to be conducted
				contradictorily with the department.