30 Miss. Code. R. 2825-1.7 - Pre-Hearing Procedures

A. Continuances.

1) Hearings shall be held before the Board Hearing Panel at the time and place designated in the Formal Complaint and Notice of Hearing unless the Board grants a continuance.

(a) A motion for a continuance must be filed with the Board at least ten (10) days prior to the scheduled hearing. A request for continuance, including to retain counsel, submitted less than ten (10) days prior to the hearing may be made only under unusual circumstances. In such event, a request for a continuance shall be granted only unusual circumstances and if the other party will not be prejudiced thereby

(b) No more than one (1) continuance of the hearing will be granted without the approval of the Board or Board's designee for good cause.

B. Subpoenas.

1) For the purpose of disciplinary hearings, the Board acting by and through its legal staff may subpoena persons and papers on its own behalf and on behalf of a Respondent.

2) Before the Board will issue any subpoena on behalf of a Respondent, the Respondent shall file with the Board a written request for the issuance of said subpoenas, identifying with certainty the identity and address of all persons to be subpoenaed and/or a concise description of the records to be subpoenaed with the identity and address of the custodian of said records.

3) All requests for the issuance of subpoenas shall be filed with the Board at least ten (10) days before the scheduled hearing date. The Board shall not be responsible for the timely receipt of said subpoenas issued after the deadline.

4) All subpoenas issued by the Board either on its own behalf or on behalf of a Respondent shall be effected by certified mail or by personal delivery.

5) All subpoenas issued by the Board shall be returnable within ten (10) days to either the Board or other location as specified in the subpoena.

6) The Board shall charge a Respondent a reasonable fee, not to exceed $25.00 per subpoena, for preparation and mailing of subpoenas. Payment must be made by cashier's check, money order, or Board-accepted electronic method.

C. Disclosure.

1) No depositions shall be taken in preparation for matters to be heard before the Board or its Hearing Panel.

2) Requests for disclosure under this rule shall have standing effect until resolution of the case.

3) Parties shall comply with disclosure as requested within ten (10) days of the day the request was made or within ten (10) days of which the information or material was acquired by possession, custody, control or became within the knowledge of party. Both parties shall make every effort to facilitate disclosure in a timely manner prior to a scheduled matter before the Board.

4) Upon written request by a Respondent or his or her counsel, Complaint Counsel of the Board shall disclose and permit Respondent or his or her counsel to inspect, copy, or photograph the following information and material which is in the possession, custody, or control of the Board or the existence of which is known to the Complaint Counsel:

(a) Names and addresses of all witnesses proposed to be called in Complaint Counsel's case in chief, together with a copy of the contents of any statement, written, recorded, or otherwise preserved, of each such witness.

(b) Copies of any written or recorded statement of Respondent and the substance of any oral statement made by Respondent.

(c) Copies of any public criminal record of Respondent, if proposed to be used.

(d) Any written reports or statements of experts, if proposed to be offered as evidence in connection with the particular case.

(e) All records, documents, physical evidence, or photographs which may be offered as evidence.

(f) Any exculpatory material concerning the Respondent.

5) The Board shall charge a Respondent a reasonable fee, not to exceed fifty cents ($0.50) per page, payable in advance of delivery of copied documents. Payment must be made by Board-accepted electronic method.

6) The Board may deny disclosure authorized by this Rule:

(a) If it finds that there is a substantial risk to any person of physical harm, intimidation, bribery, economic reprisals, or unnecessary embarrassment resulting from such disclosure which outweighs any usefulness of the disclosure to Respondent or his or her counsel.

(b) In accordance with applicable statutory and regulatory provisions providing exemptions, including but not limited to:

1. Miss. Code Ann. Section 25-61-12 and

2. Miss. Code Ann. Section 73-52-1.

7) Upon written request by Complaint Counsel, Respondent or his or her counsel shall promptly disclose and permit Complaint Counsel to inspect, copy, or photograph the following information and material which is in the possession, custody, or control of the Respondent or his or her counsel or the existence of which is known to the Respondent or his or her counsel:

(a) Names and addresses of all witnesses proposed to be called in Respondent's defense, together with a copy of the contents of any statement, written, recorded, or otherwise preserved, of each such witness.

(b) All records, documents, physical evidence, or photographs which may or shall be offered as evidence in Respondent's defense.

(c) Any written reports or statements of experts, if proposed to be offered as evidence in connection with the particular case.

D. Exhibits

1) Respondent or his or her counsel shall produce to the Board copies of all exhibits he or she intends to introduce as evidence in a Formal Hearing at least five (5) business days prior to the date of the Formal Hearing.

(a) This provision shall be satisfied if Respondent or his or her counsel previously provided disclosure under Rule 1.7 C to Complaint Counsel and the disclosure contained no changes from that to be offered into evidence as exhibits.

(b) Respondent or his or her counsel shall produce at least five (5) physical copies of exhibits at the Formal Hearing, for review by the Board Hearing Panel, Complaint Counsel, and the Hearing Officer.

2) Upon written request of Respondent or his or her counsel, Complaint Counsel shall permit inspection of or produce to the Respondent or his or her counsel copies of all exhibits he or she intends to introduce as evidence in a Formal Hearing.

(a) This provision shall be satisfied if Complaint Counsel previously provided disclosure under Rule 1.7 C to Respondent or his or her counsel and the disclosure contained no changes from that to be offered into evidence as exhibits.

(b) Complaint Counsel shall not be obligated to fulfill requests made by Respondent within (5) business days of the date of the Formal Hearing.

E. Failure to Comply.

1) In case of the failure of any person to comply with a timely request for disclosure and/or production of exhibits, the Board Hearing Panel shall either:

(a) Enter an Order prohibiting the noncompliant party from introducing the designated records, or

(b) Enter an Order continuing the matter until the next scheduled Formal Hearing time and, if the Respondent is the noncomplying party, temporarily suspending Respondent's license.

F. Amendment of Pleadings.

1) Complaint Counsel may amend a Formal Complaint and Notice of Hearing that has been duly served upon Respondent at any time prior to or during the scheduled hearing, provided the amendment is for the purpose of correcting a clerical error or clarifying facts set forth in the Formal Complaint and Notice of Hearing.

2) Complaint Counsel may amend a Formal Complaint and Notice of Hearing to add additional charges or counts provided the amended Formal Complaint and Notice of Hearing is served upon Respondent not less than fifteen (15) days before the scheduled hearing date or by mutual agreement of the parties.

G. Pre-Hearing Motions.

1) All pre-hearing motions shall be filed not later than ten (10) days prior to the scheduled hearing. Said motion shall be accompanied by a memorandum setting forth a succinct explanation of the grounds on which relief is sought. Any such memorandum may not exceed five (5) typed pages unless permission to exceed that limit is requested and granted in advance by the Board or Board designee.

2) Affidavits may accompany a motion as necessary to establish facts alleged in support of the motion.

3) All memorandums filed by opposing counsel in opposition to the initial motion shall be filed not later than five (5) days prior to the scheduled hearing. Any such memorandum in opposition may not exceed five (5) typed pages unless permission to exceed that limit is requested and granted in advance by the Board or designee.

H. Procedural Decisions.

1) The Attorney General and/or a designee thereof will be fully authorized to make all necessary procedural decisions on behalf of the Board, including, but not limited to, matters related to continuances, time extensions, amendments, pre-hearing conferences.

Notes

30 Miss. Code. R. 2825-1.7

Miss. Code Ann. § 73-15-17 (1972, as amended).

Adopted 9/22/2019 Amended 7/11/2024 Amended 3/17/2025