12. Hearing Procedures
A. Scope and Purposes of Rules
These rules are designed to govern the procedures applicable to hearings conducted by the Board of Registration in Medicine upon denial of an application for licensure or in the event of disciplinary action pursuant to 32 MRSA Section 3283 et. seq. These rules shall be construed to render substantial justice and where applicable the Maine Rules of Civil Procedures and statutory law shall govern.
B. Hearing on Denial of Application for License
Any person denied licensure may, within 10 days after said denial, request a full hearing before the Board by filing with the Secretary of the Board a notice signed by the applicant requesting a hearing upon such denial. The Board shall, within 30 days of receipt of said notice, notify said applicant of the date, time and place of said hearing which shall be held within 20 days thereafter. The scope of any hearing upon denial shall be restricted to the receipt of evidence by the applicant and the Board as to the reasons for denial set forth in the original denial.
C. Presiding Officer
The presiding officer at any hearing shall be either (1) the Chairman of the Board, if present and willing to preside, otherwise (2) a member of the Board selected by those members present at the hearing. The presiding officer shall have the authority to:
1.dminister oaths or affirmations
2. Rule upon issues of evidence
3. Regulate the course of the hearing
4. Rule upon the issues of procedure
5. Take such other actions as may be ordered by the Board or that are necessary for the efficient and orderly conduct of the hearing, consistent with these regulations and applicable statutes.
D. Prehearing Conferences
The Board may hold a prehearing conference for the purpose of formulating or simplifying the issues, obtaining admissions of fact and of documents, arranging for the exchange of proposed exhibits or prepared expert testimony, limitation of number of witnesses and consolidation of the examination of witnesses, procedure at the hearings,. and such other matters, which may expedite orderly conduct and disposition of the proceedings.
E. General Conduct
1. Transcription of Testimony
All testimony at hearings before the Board shall be recorded and, as necessary, transcribed.
2. Witnesses
All witnesses shall be sworn. Witnesses may be compelled to attend, testify and produce records if subpoenaed by the Board.
3. Regulations of Certain Devices
The placement and use of television cameras, still cameras motion picture cameras or microphones at Board hearings, other than by the official Board reporter for the purpose of recording the proceedings thereof, may be regulated by the presiding officer.
F. Evidence
1. General
Evidence which is relevant and material to the subject matter of the hearing and is of a type commonly relied upon by reasonably prudent men in the conduct of their affairs shall be admissible. Evidence which is irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious shall be excluded.
2. Official Notice
The Board may, at any time, take notice of judicially cognizable facts, generally recognized facts of common knowledge to the general public and physical, technical medical or scientific facts within its specialized knowledge. The Board shall include in its final decision those facts of which it took official notices, unless those facts are included in the transcript of the record.
3. Proof of Official Record
The presiding officer may require that an official record or lack thereof be evidenced by an official publication cm by a copy or a statement attested by a person having, or who would ordinarily have, the legal custody of the record.
4. Documentary and Real Evidence
All documents, materials, and objects offered in evidence as exhibits shall, if accepted, be numbered or otherwise identified. Documentary evidence may be received in the form of copies or excerpts if the original is not readily available.
5. Objections
All objections to rulings of the presiding officer regarding evidence or procedure and the grounds therefor shall be timely stated during the course of the hearing.
G. Record
The record of the hearing shall consist of the transcript of the hearing, all exhibits, all briefs or proposed findings, and findings of fact and conclusions of the Board, if any. Said records shall be filed and maintained as part of the permanent records of the Board.
H. Petition for Correction of Error or Reconsideration of Officially Noticed Facts
1. Filing of Petition
Within five (5) days after the issuance of any decision or order, any party aggrieved by a decision or order of the Board may petition the Board to seek the correction of any misstatement of fact or clerical error contained in the final decision or to challenge any material fact of which the Board took official notice. The Board shall determine whether to (1) dismiss the petition as without merit, (2) correct the error, (3) reopen the hearing to correct such error or to hear evidence relating to the noticed material, or (4) take such other steps as it deems appropriate. Failure to invoke the provision of this Rule shall have no effect upon an aggrieved party's right of appeal to a court of law.
I. Computation of Time
All computations of time under these Rules shall be in the same manner as provided by Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 6 (a), (b) and (e).
J. Burden of Proof
Unless otherwise provided by law or regulation, an applicant for any license or the Board in any disciplinary action shall have the burden of proof.
K. Effective Date
These Rules shall be effective upon the date of filing with the Secretary of State.
L. Disposition of Case by Agreement
Any case may be finally disposed of by agreement of the parties and their counsel, if any, on approval of the presiding officer. If the case is disposed of in this manner, the parties shall sign and file with the Board an agreement for docket entry which shall become effective on the date approved by the presiding officer.
M. Presiding Officer Procedure
In order to expedite the disposition of any case the presiding officer may order the observance of procedures not in contravention of any statute or regulation providing they do not violate the intent of these rules or prejudice the right of the party to prosecute or defend his case.
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