(a) Public hearings. All hearings pursuant to this part shall be public unless otherwise ordered by the Presiding Officer. Notice of the time and location of the hearing shall be served on each party and participant, and published in the Federal Register.

(b) Expedition. Hearings shall proceed with all reasonable speed, insofar as practicable and with due regard to the convenience of the parties and shall continue without suspension until concluded, except in unusual circumstances.

(c) Rights of parties. Every party shall have the right of timely notice and all other rights essential to a fair hearing, including, but not limited to, the rights to present evidence, to conduct such cross-examination as may be necessary in the judgment of the Presiding Officer for a full and complete disclosure of the facts, and to be heard by objection, motion, brief, and argument.

(d) Rights of participants. Every participant shall have the right to make a written or oral statement of position, file proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law and a posthearing brief, in accordance with § 511.17(b).

(e) Rights of witnesses. Any person compelled to testify in a proceeding in response to a subpoena may be accompanied, represented, and advised by counsel or other representative, and may obtain a transcript of his or her testimony at no cost.

(a) General. A Presiding Officer shall have the duty to conduct full, fair, and impartial hearings, to take appropriate action to avoid unnecessary delay in the disposition of proceedings, and to maintain order. He or she shall have all powers necessary to that end, including the following powers:

(1) To administer oaths and affirmations;

(2) To compel discovery and to impose appropriate sanctions for failure to make discovery;

(3) To issue subpoenas;

(4) To rule upon offers of proof and receive relevant and probative evidence;

(5) To regulate the course of the hearings and the conduct of the parties and their representatives therein;

(6) To hold conferences for simplification of the issues, settlement of the proceedings, or any other proper purposes;

(7) To consider and rule, orally or in writing, upon all procedural and other motions appropriate in an adjudicative proceeding;

(8) To issue initial decisions, rulings, and orders, as appropriate;

(9) To certify questions to the Administrator for determination; and

(10) To take any action authorized in this part or in conformance with the provisions of title 5, U.S.C., sections 551 through 559.

(b) Exclusion of parties by Presiding Officer. A Presiding Officer shall have the authority, for good cause stated on the record, to exclude from participation in a proceeding any party, participant, and/or representative who shall violate requirements of § 511.76. Any party, participant and/or representative so excluded may appeal to the Administrator in accordance with the provisions of § 511.23. If the representative of a party or participant is excluded, the hearing shall be suspended for a reasonable time so that the party or participant may obtain another representative.

(c) Substitution of Presiding Officer. In the event of the substitution of a new Presiding Officer for the one originally designated, any motion predicated upon such substitution shall be made within five (5) days of the substitution.

(d) Interference. In the performance of adjudicative functions, a Presiding Officer shall not be responsible to or subject to the supervision or direction of the Administrator or of any officer, employee, or agent engaged in the performance of investigative or prosecuting functions for NHTSA. All directions by the Administrator to a Presiding Officer concerning any adjudicative proceeding shall appear on and be made a part of the record.

(e) Disqualification of Presiding Officer. (1) When a Presiding Officer deems himself or herself disqualified to preside in a particular proceeding, he or she shall withdraw by notice on the record and shall notify the Chief Administrative Law Judge of the withdrawal.

(2) Whenever, for any reason, any party shall deem the Presiding Officer to be disqualified to preside, or to continue to preside, in a particular proceeding, that party may file with the Chief Administrative Law Judge a motion to disqualify and remove, supported by affidavit(s) setting forth the alleged grounds for disqualification. A copy of the motion and supporting affidavit(s) shall be served by the Chief Administrative Law Judge on the Presiding Officer whose removal is sought. The Presiding Officer shall have ten (10) days from service to reply in writing. Such motion shall not stay the proceeding unless otherwise ordered by the Presiding Officer or the Administrator. If the Presiding Officer does not disqualify himself or herself, the Administrator will determine the validity of the grounds alleged, either directly or on the report of another Presiding Officer appointed to conduct a hearing for that purpose, and shall in the event of disqualification take appropriate action, by assigning another Presiding Officer or requesting assignment of another Administrative Law Judge through the Office of Hearings.

(a) Applicability of Federal Rules of Evidence. The Federal Rules of Evidence shall apply to proceedings held under this part only as a general guide. The Presiding Officer may admit any relevent and probative evidence.

(b) Burden of proof. (1) Complaint counsel shall have the burden of sustaining the allegations of any complaint.

(2) Any party who is the proponent of a legal and/or factual proposition shall have the burden of sustaining the proposition.

(c) Presumptions. A presumption imposes on the party against whom it is directed the burden of going forward with evidence to rebut or meet the presumption, but does not shift to such party the burden of proof in the sense of the risk of nonpersuasion, which remains throughout the hearing upon the party on whom it was originally cast.

(d) Admissibility. All relevant and reliable evidence is admissible, but may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, immateriality, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence.

(e) Official notice—(1) Definition. Official notice means use by the Presiding Officer of extra-record facts and legal conclusions drawn from those facts. An officially noticed fact or legal conclusion must be one not subject to reasonable dispute in that it is either (i) generally known within the jurisdiction of the Presiding Officer or (ii) known by the Presiding Officer in areas of his or her expertise; or (iii) capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.

(2) Method of taking official notice. The Presiding Officer may at any time take official notice upon motion of any party or upon its own initiative. The record shall reflect the facts and conclusions which have been officially noticed.

(3) Opportunity to challenge. Any party may upon application in writing rebut officially noticed facts and conclusions by supplementing the record. The Presiding Officer shall determine the permissible extent of this challenge; that is, whether to limit the party to presentation of written materials, whether to allow presentation of testimony, whether to allow cross-examination, or whether to allow oral argument. The Presiding Officer shall grant or deny the application on the record.

(f) Objections and exceptions. Objections to evidence shall be timely interposed, shall appear on the record, and shall contain the grounds upon which they are based. Rulings on all objections, and the bases therefore, shall appear on the record. Formal exception to an adverse ruling is not required to preserve the question for appeal.

(g) Offer of proof. When an objection to proffered testimony or documentary evidence is sustained, the sponsoring party may make a specific offer, either in writing or orally, of what the party expects to prove by the testimony or the document. When an offer of proof is made, any other party may make a specific offer, either in writing or orally, of what the party expects to present to rebut or contradict the offer of proof. Written offers of proof or of rebuttal, adequately marked for identification, shall accompany the record and be available for consideration by any reviewing authority.

(a) Definition. An expert witness is one who, by reason of education, training, experience, or profession, has peculiar knowlege concerning the matter of science or skill to which his or her testimony relates and from which he or she may draw inferences based upon hypothetically stated facts or from facts involving scientific or technical knowledge.

(b) Method of presenting testimony of expert witness. Except as may be otherwise ordered by the Presiding Officer, a detailed written statement of the elements of the direct testimony of an expert witness shall be filed on the record and exchanged between the parties no later than 10 days preceding the commencement of the hearing. The statement must contain a full explanation of the methodology underlying any analysis, and a full disclosure of the basis of any opinion. The direct testimony of an expert witness shall not include points not contained in the written statement. A party may waive direct examination of an expert witness by indicating that the written statement be considered the testimony of the witness. In such a case, the written testimony shall be incorporated into the record and shall constitute the testimony of the witness.

(c) Cross-examination and redirect examination of expert witness. Cross-examination, redirect examination, and re-cross-examination of an expert witness will proceed in due course based upon the written testimony and any amplifying oral testimony.

(d) Failure to file and/or to exchange written statement. Failure to file and/or to exchange the written statement of an expert witness as provided in this section shall deprive the sponsoring party of the use of the expert witness and of the conclusions which that witness would have presented.

(a) Definition. In camera materials are documents, testimony, or other data which by order of the Presiding Officer or the Administrator, as appropriate under this part, are kept confidential and excluded from the public record. Only materials exempt under the Freedom of Information Act may be kept confidential and excluded from the public record. Pursuant to 49 CFR part 512, the Chief Counsel of the NHTSA is responsible for determining whether an alleged confidential business record is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. The right of the Presiding Officer, the Administrator and reviewing courts to order disclosure of in camera materials is specifically reserved.

(b) In camera treatment of documents and testimony. The Presiding Officer or the Administrator, as appropriate under this part, shall have authority, when good cause is found on the record, to order documents or testimony offered in evidence, whether admitted or rejected, to be received and preserved in camera. The order shall specify the length of time for in camera treatment and shall include:

(1) A description of the documents and/or testimony;

(2) The reasons for granting in camera treatment for the specified length of time.

(c) Access and disclosure to parties. (1) The Administrator and Presiding Officer, and their immediate advisory staffs shall have complete access to all in camera materials. All other parties shall also have complete access to all in camera materials, except that these parties may seek access only in accordance with paragraph (c)(2) of this section when:

(i) The in camera materials consist of information obtained by the government from persons not parties to the proceeding; or

(ii) The in camera materials consist of information provided by one of the parties to the proceeding which is confidential as to the other parties to the proceeding.

(2) Any party desiring access to and/or disclosure of the in camera materials specified in paragraph (c)(1) (i) and (ii) of this section for the preparation and presentation of that party's case shall make a motion which sets forth the justification therefor. The Presiding Officer or the Administrator, as appropriate under this part, may grant such motion on the record for substantial good cause shown and shall enter a protective order prohibiting unnecessary disclosure and requiring other necessary safeguards. The Presiding Officer or the Administrator, as appropriate, may examine the in camera materials and excise portions thereof before disclosing the materials to the moving party.

(d) Segregation of in camera materials. In camera materials shall be segregated from the public record and protected from public view.

(e) Public release of in camera materials. In camera materials constitute a part of the confidential records of the NHTSA and shall not be released to the public until the expiration of in camera treatment.

(f) Reference to in camera materials. In the submission of proposed findings, conclusions, briefs, or other documents, all parties shall refrain from disclosing specific details of in camera materials. Such refraining shall not preclude general references to such materials. To the extent that parties consider it necessary to include specific details of in camera materials, the references shall be incorporated into separate proposed findings, briefs, or other documents marked “CONFIDENTIAL, CONTAINS IN CAMERA MATERIAL,” which shall be placed in camera and become part of the in camera record. These documents shall be served only on parties accorded access to the in camera materials in accordance with paragraph (c)(2) of this section.

Within a reasonable time after the closing of the record and receipt of the transcript, all parties and participants may, simultaneously, file post-hearing briefs, including proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law and a proposed order, together with reasons therefore. The Presiding Officer shall establish a date certain for the filing of the briefs, which shall not exceed 45 days after the close of the record except in unusual circumstances. The briefs shall be in writing, shall be served upon all parties, and shall contain adequate references to the record and authorities relied on. Replies shall be filed within fifteen (15) days of the date for the filing of briefs unless otherwise established by the Presiding Officer. The parties and participants may waive either or both submissions.

(a) Reporting and transcription. Hearings shall be recorded and transcribed under the supervision of the Presiding Officer by a reporter appointed by the Administrator. The original transcript shall be a part of the record and the official transcript. Copies of transcripts are available from the reporter at a cost not to exceed the maximum rates fixed by contract between the NHTSA and the reporter.

(b) Corrections. Corrections of the official transcript may be made only when they involve errors affecting substance and then only in the manner herein provided. The Presiding Officer may order corrections, either on his or her own motion or on motion of any party. The Presiding Officer shall determine the corrections to be made and so order. Corrections shall be interlineated or otherwise inserted in the official transcript so as not to obliterate the original text.

(a) The official docket in adjudicatory proceedings will be maintained in the Docket Section, Office of the Secretary, Room 4107, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20590, and will be available for inspection during normal working hours (9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.) Monday through Friday.

(b) Fees for production or disclosure of records contained in the official docket shall be levied as prescribed in the Department of Transportation's regulations on Public Availability of Information (49 CFR part 7).

(a) Witnesses. Any person compelled to appear in person in response to a subpoena or notice of oral examination shall be paid at least the same attendance and mileage fees as are paid witnesses in the courts of the United States, in accordance with title 28, U.S.C., section 1821.

(b) Responsibility. The fees and mileage referred to in this section shall be paid by the party at whose instance witnesses appear.