Section 2402.190  Conduct of the Hearing

a)         All hearings shall be public unless required by statute to be otherwise. Any person may submit written statements relevant to the subject matter of the hearing.  Any person submitting such a statement shall be subject to cross-examination by any party.  If such person is not available for cross-examination upon timely request, the written statement shall be stricken from the record.  The Hearing Officer may permit any person to offer oral testimony whether or not such person is a party to the proceedings.

b)         The following shall be the order of proceedings of all hearings, subject to modification by the Hearing Officer for good cause:

1)         presentation, argument and disposition of motions preliminary to a hearing on the merits of the matters raised in the Notice or Answer;

2)         presentation of opening statements;

3)         complainant's case in chief;

4)         respondent's case in chief;

5)         complainant's case in rebuttal;

6)         statements from interested citizens, if authorized by the Hearing Officer;

7)         complainant's closing statement, which may include legal argument;

8)         respondent's closing statement, which may include legal argument;

9)         presentation and argument of all motions prior to final order.