 |
|
|
Requesting a hearing- There are two reasons for requesting a hearing.
- You disagree with a formal Department of Health order or decision. You may
appeal the decision by sending us (Adjudicative Service Unit) a letter.
All filings must be copied to the other party in your case. The other
party is the Department of Health program whose decision you are
appealing. Once we receive your appeal,
we will send both sides in the case a scheduling order.
- You are a health professional and you have received a statement of
charges. You can request a hearing by sending us (Adjudicative Service
Unit) an Answer to the Statement of Charges within 20 days of
the date the Statement of Charges was served on you. You received an
answer form with the
Statement of Charges. When you send us your answer form, or any
other information, you must also send a copy to the assistant attorney general listed in
the Notice of Opportunity for Settlement and Hearing that you received
with the Statement of Charges. After we receive your
answer form, we will issue a
Scheduling Order.
- Scheduling Order
- If a case is to be scheduled for a hearing, we will issue a Scheduling Order/Notice that
lists critical dates and deadlines.
- Discovery
- Discovery is the process during which the parties are allowed to obtain information from each other and the witnesses
in order to prepare for the hearing.
- During discovery the parties may request documents, interview witnesses
and depose witnesses. The
parties may use other methods to gather information if the Health Law
Judge approves. Disputes and issues that can arise during the discovery
process include access to records, access
to witnesses and the scope of discovery. If the parties are unable to
resolve a dispute, they may file a motion with the Adjudicative
Service Unit.
The parties must complete the exchange of
information by the discovery cut-off date contained in the Scheduling Order. - Motion
- A motion is a party’s oral or written request for the judge or
presiding officer to make a decision or direct an action that favors the
party making the motion. Dispositive motions are motions that, if
granted, will dispose of the case. The Scheduling Order contains
a specific deadline for making dispositive motions. All other motions must be made before the “all other”
motions cutoff date set in the Scheduling Order. The procedure for
making a motion is stated in the Washington Administrative Rules, WAC
246-10-403 and WAC 246-11-380.
- Prehearing Conference
- A prehearing conference is a meeting of the parties
and the presiding officer. During the conference, the presiding officer reviews matters
in preparation for the hearing, including the following topics:
- Issues to be considered at the hearing.
- Facts which are admitted or not contested.
- Identification of exhibits that will be admitted at the hearing.
- Identification of expert and lay witnesses.
- Outstanding motions that have been filed.
The purpose of the prehearing conference is to prepare the
parties for the hearing and to ensure that the hearing is
completed on the scheduled hearing date. The procedure for a
prehearing conference is stated in Washington Administrative
Rules, WAC 246-10-404 and WAC 246-11-390.
Before the prehearing conference, the parties are required to
file a prehearing statement which includes a list of all the
witnesses and exhibits. (See deadline in scheduling order.)
If a party does not attend the prehearing conference, they will
be considered in default, and an
Order of Default may be issued.
- Order Defining Conduct at Hearing
- After the prehearing conference, the Health Law Judge will issue a Prehearing Order Defining Conduct at
Hearing. This order establishes the procedure for the hearing.
- Hearing
- A hearing is a formal meeting before a decision-maker where issues of fact and law are tried. Each party has the opportunity to present
their witnesses and exhibits and to question the witnesses about issues of fact. At the end of the hearing, each party can present an argument to the presiding
officer and/or board as to what should be the appropriate decision. Argument must be based on the evidence presented. A court reporter attends the hearing to record the proceeding. Generally,
the hearing is open to the public.
- Decision
- Decisions will be in writing and served upon the parties after the hearing. Decisions are generally issued between 45 and 90 days after a hearing.
In health profession discipline cases before the Secretary of the Department of Health, the presiding officer uses the
Secretary's
sanctioning guidelines to determine any sanction. The boards and commissions also use the sanctioning guidelines to determine any
sanction. The Nursing Quality Care Assurance Commission use these guidelines in addition to
their own guidelines. The Chiropractic Quality Assurance Commission
uses
similar sanctioning guidelines.
|
|
Hearing Process
You request a hearing
(To appeal
a decision or contest charges made against you)
Scheduling order sent
(Sets hearing dates and deadlines)
Discovery
(Parties gather information for hearing)
Motions
(Parties may make requests of the judge.)
Prehearing conference
(Parties meet to prepare for hearing.)
Hearing
(Parties present exhibits, testimony and arguments.)
Written Decision
(Outcome of case is announced)
|
