3 Miss. Code. R. 1-05-502 - Contested Hearing

1. The victim/claimant who disagrees with the decision of the Director after reconsideration may contest such decision within thirty (30) days after notification of issuance of the decision.

2. Requesting a Contested Hearing:

a. The victim/claimant must provide a written request for a contested hearing to the Director within thirty (30) days from the date of notification of reconsideration.

b. The written request shall contain:

i. a brief position statement and the reason(s) why he/she is dissatisfied with the decision of the reconsideration;

ii. newly discovered information that would have resulted in a different determination had the information been known to the victim/claimant and the Division at the time of the original determination and/or reconsideration determination;

iii. that the victim/claimant exercised reasonable diligence to ascertain such information at the time of the original determination and/or reconsideration; and,

iv. the name, address and telephone number of any potential witnesses.

3. When a request for a contested hearing is received, the Division shall:

a. Send the victim/claimant a letter acknowledging receipt of the request for a hearing;

b. Set a date, time and place for the hearing;

c. Send the victim/claimant a Notification of the Contested Hearing to include the date, time and place of the hearing;

d. Send the victim/claimant the Policies for a Contested Hearing, providing the administrative rules of a hearing; and,

e. Send the victim/claimant the Policies for Issuance of Subpoenas, providing instructions for requesting the attendance of any potential witness.

4. The victim/claimant shall provide an acknowledgment that they have received the Notification of the Contested Hearing.

5. Witnesses:

a. The victim/claimant may request the issuance of subpoenas for witnesses on his or her behalf for the contested hearing.

b. The request for issuance of a subpoena should be made in writing to the Division and received no later than twenty (20) days prior to the hearing date.

c. The cost of the issuance of a subpoena shall be the responsibility of the victim/claimant and is payable in advance at the current rate of such cost. The fee shall be in the form of a cashier's check, money order or bona fide attorney's check made payable to the sheriff of the county where the person subpoenaed may be found.

d. All witnesses shall testify under oath and shall be subject to cross examination.

6. The Director shall have the power to subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance and require the production of records and other evidence.

7. The hearing shall be informal and technical rules of evidence shall be relaxed.

8. Failure to appear, without good cause, at the hearing will be considered as a withdrawal, waiving the right to appeal and will result in dismissal of the claim. If the victim/claimant is unable to appear in person, a telephone hearing may be requested. It is within the discretion of the hearing officer to allow or disallow a telephone hearing which is requested in a timely fashion.

9. Record of the Hearing:

a. In order to preserve the record of the hearing, a recording shall be made by a court reporter retained at the expense of the Division.

b. A record of the hearing in a contested case shall be made and shall be transcribed upon request of any party who shall pay transcription costs unless otherwise ordered by the Division.

10. Order after Contested Hearing:

a. After the hearing, the Director shall enter the findings of the contested hearing into an Order.

b. The victim/claimant will be notified in writing of the decision of the contested hearing.

c. A victim/claimant who disagrees with the Order may appeal to the circuit court within thirty (30) days after being notified of the Order.

d. The contested hearing decision becomes the final ruling of the Director within thirty (30) days of notification of the decision if no appeal before the circuit court is made.

Notes

3 Miss. Code. R. 1-05-502