Court Opinion

ID: 9845052
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 03:14:36.743466+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:15:51.076143
License: Public Domain

BAKES, Chief Justice,
concurring specially:
I concur in the majority opinion except its conclusion that it was inappropriate for the Commission to use the demeanor of the witness as a basis for its determining credibility where only one of the two Industrial Commission members who participated in the Commission’s opinion had observed the witness. While I agree that there is substantial other evidence to support the Commission’s finding, and therefore the credibility finding is not reversible error, I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that observation of the demeanor of witnesses cannot be a basis' for the Industrial Commission’s decision unless each of the commissioners signing on to the decision has personally observed the demeanor of the witness.
*902The present caseload of the Industrial Commission results in most of the Commission’s hearings being conducted by hearing examiners, who make recommended findings of fact and conclusions of law and decision to the Commission. This practice is authorized by the rules of the Industrial Commission. The Industrial Commission should be entitled to consider a hearing officer’s evaluation of demeanor and credibility as one basis in determining whether or not to accept the hearing officer’s recommended findings in a case. Even more so, where one of the commissioners has conducted a hearing, the other commissioners ought to be entitled to consider that commissioner’s evaluation of credibility, including his observations of the demeanor of the witnesses. Accordingly, I disagree with that part of the majority opinion which concludes that such a practice is inappropriate. However, I agree with the majority that the Commission’s alternative reason for its credibility finding is valid, and therefore I concur in the result of the majority opinion.