Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 137 - DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE › Division 3 - MODEL RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR CONTESTED CASES › Section 137-003-0568 - Discovery in Contested Case Hearing - Procedure

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
(1) Before filing a motion for an order
			 requiring discovery, a party or the agency must make a good faith effort to
			 obtain the information from the party, agency or person who has the
			 information, unless the effort would pose a risk to any person or would be
			 futile.
(2) A motion for an order
			 requiring discovery should be filed with and decided by the agency or the
			 administrative law judge, as required by OAR 137-003-0520(2)  and
			 137-003-0630.
(3) Any party seeking
			 an order from the administrative law judge requiring discovery shall send a
			 copy of the motion to the agency, unless the agency has waived notice, and to
			 all other parties. If the agency seeks an order requiring discovery, the agency
			 shall send a copy of the motion to all parties. A request for an order
			 requiring discovery must include a description of the attempts to obtain the
			 requested discovery informally, or an explanation why no such attempt was made,
			 and an explanation of how the discovery is likely to produce information that
			 is generally relevant and necessary to the case.
(4) The agency or the administrative law
			 judge may authorize the requested discovery if the agency or the administrative
			 law judge determines that the requested discovery is reasonably likely to
			 produce information that is generally relevant to the case and necessary or
			 likely to facilitate resolution of the case. Upon request of a party, a
			 witness, or the agency, the agency or the administrative law judge may deny,
			 limit, or condition discovery to protect any party, any witness, or the agency
			 from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, undue burden or expense, or to limit
			 the public disclosure of information that is confidential or privileged by
			 statute or rule. In making a decision, the agency or administrative law judge
			 shall consider any objections by the party, the witness or the agency from whom
			 the discovery is sought.
(5) If the
			 agency or the administrative law judge authorizes discovery, the agency or the
			 administrative law judge shall control the methods, timing and extent of
			 discovery. Upon request of a party or the agency, the administrative law judge
			 or the agency may issue a protective order limiting the public disclosure of
			 information that is confidential or privileged by law.
(6) Only the agency may issue subpoenas in
			 support of a discovery order. The agency or the party requesting the discovery
			 may apply to the circuit court to compel obedience to a subpoena. (Subpoenas
			 for attendance of witnesses or production of documents at the hearing are
			 controlled by OAR 137-003-0585.)
(7) A party or agency dissatisfied with an
			 administrative law judge's discovery order may ask the Chief Administrative Law
			 Judge for immediate review of the order. A request for review by the Chief
			 Administrative Law Judge must be made in writing within 10 days of the date of
			 the discovery order. The Chief Administrative Law Judge shall review the order
			 and independently apply the criteria set out in OAR 137-003-0567. The Chief
			 Administrative Law Judge's order shall be in writing and shall explain any
			 significant changes to the discovery order.
(8) The Chief Administrative Law Judge or the
			 agency may designate in writing a person to exercise their respective
			 responsibilities under this rule.
(9) In addition to or in lieu of any other
			 discovery method, a party may ask an agency for records under the Public
			 Records Law. The party making a public records request of the agency before
			 which the contested case is pending should serve a copy of the public records
			 request upon the agency representative or the attorney representing the
			 agency.
Stat. Auth.: ORS
				  183.341
Stats. Implemented: ORS
				  183.341 &
				  183.630