Opinion ID: 1913609
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: Subpoena for Dr. Bleed

Text: We first discuss whether Dr. Bleed should have been subject to a subpoena. The Department of Water Resources has the power to compel the attendance of witnesses. § 46-209. According to Wyoming, a Department of Water Resources rule provides that a subpoena `will be issued by the Director or Hearing Officer on written request of any interested party....' (Emphasis omitted.) Brief for appellant at 37, quoting Nebraska Department of Water Resources, Rules of Practice and Procedure, 454 Neb.Admin.Code, ch. 4, § 006 (1989). This rule was not judicially noticed at the hearing. Nebraska appellate courts generally do not take judicial notice of administrative rules and regulations. See, Dairyland Power Co-op v. State Bd. of Equal., 238 Neb. 696, 472 N.W.2d 363 (1991); Donahoo v. Nebraska Liquor Control Comm., 229 Neb. 197, 426 N.W.2d 250 (1988). Wyoming, therefore, has failed to establish that it has a right to have a subpoena issued at all. Assuming, arguendo, that Wyoming has a due process right to have a subpoena issued, the question remains whether a subpoena should have been issued for Dr. Bleed. The hearing on CPNRD's applications, by agreement of the parties, was conducted according to the Nebraska Evidence Rules. Rule 605 provides that [t]he judge presiding at the trial may not testify in that trial as a witness. This rule is identical to rule 605 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. The federal rule was founded, in part, on concerns that the judge would not be able to perform certain judicial functions if the judge took the witness stand: The rationale for a rule of incompetency is obvious. When a judge testifies as a witness in a trial at which he presides, his role as a witness is inconsistent with the posture of impartiality which the court is expected to maintain. Permitting a judge to testify raises perplexing questions of who will rule on objections, who will compel answers, what will be the scope of cross-examination, and how counsel is to maintain a proper relationship with the court. 3 Jack B. Weinstein & Margaret A. Berger, Weinstein's Evidence ¶ 605[01] at 605-4 to 605-5 (1993). When the judge is a witness, the judge cannot perform two crucial judicial functions: controlling the presentation of evidence and deciding impartially the merits of the case. Wyoming correctly notes that Dr. Bleed is not, technically, a judge. We would add that technically, the hearing officer is not a judge and the director is not a judge. Nevertheless, the same concerns which are raised by the prospect of judicial testimony are raised by the prospect of testimony by administrative adjudicators. The hearing officer, the director, and Dr. Bleed are all performing adjudicative functions: the hearing officer is controlling the presentation of evidence, the director is deciding the ultimate outcome of the case, and Dr. Bleed, according to the explanations provided by the department, assists in the decisionmaking process by providing technical expertise. Rule 605's unequivocal prohibition of judicial testimony does not neatly fit the realities of agency adjudications because there is no single agency judge. When the Nebraska Evidence Rules apply to an administrative hearing, those persons performing adjudicative functions are presumptively incompetent to testify. To hold otherwise would enable the parties to remove unwanted adjudicators simply by requesting a subpoena. However, there are limits to an agency's power to shield its employees from a subpoena. An employee with unique knowledge indispensable to the adjudication may be subject to a subpoena. See American Cyanamid Company v. F.T.C., 363 F.2d 757 (6th Cir.1966) (where parties were charged with improperly influencing a patent officer, who had decided the parties' priority with respect to the claimed invention, the facts were known only to the patent officer, and therefore the patent officer could be subpoenaed to testify as to the alleged misconduct). In the present case, there is no indication that Dr. Bleed's testimony was crucial to Wyoming's case. There is no claim that Dr. Bleed had any unique knowledge of the facts. There is no claim that the facts were inadequately presented by the witnesses. The record certainly does not lack the testimony of expert hydrologists. We therefore find that Dr. Bleed was properly excluded from testifying at the hearing. Without a showing that her testimony was necessary, issuing a subpoena for Dr. Bleed would have unduly burdened the decisionmaking obligation of the agency and would have tainted the impartiality of the hearing process.