(1) The WSF
company security officer or his or her designee (hereinafter "hearing
official") shall:
(a) Notify the appellant of
the hearing date, time, and location;
(b) Conduct a hearing within ten business
days of receipt of the notice of appeal; and
(c) Issue a written ruling upholding,
rescinding, or modifying the no trespass warning notice no later than five
business days after the hearing. The written ruling shall conform to the
requirements of the Washington Administrative Procedure Act,
chapter
34.05 RCW.
(2) The hearing official shall
consider a sworn report or a declaration under penalty of perjury as authorized
by RCW
9A.72.085, written by the individual who
issued the no trespass warning notice, without further evidentiary foundation.
This evidence creates a rebuttable presumption that the violation occurred and
the burden thereafter rests with the appellant to overcome the
presumption.
(3) The hearing
official shall consider the no trespass warning notice and may consider any
written or oral sworn testimony of the appellant or witnesses, as well as
pictorial or demonstrative evidence offered by the appellant that the hearing
official considers relevant and trustworthy. The hearing official may consider
information that would not be admissible under the evidence rules in a court of
law.
(4) The hearing official may
issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of
documents, and shall administer individual oaths to witnesses. The hearing
official shall not issue a subpoena for the attendance of a witness at the
request of the appellant unless the request is accompanied by the fee required
by RCW
5.56.010 for a witness in district court. The
appellant shall be responsible for serving any subpoena issued at the
appellant's request.
(5) If, after
the hearing, the hearing official is persuaded on a "more probable than not"
basis that the violation did occur, the no trespass warning notice shall be
upheld. However, if the appellant can establish that he or she necessarily
requires access to the WSF property from which he or she is expelled for
purposes of commuting to and from work, school, or necessary medical treatment,
the hearing officer shall:
(a) Modify the
terms of the no trespass warning notice to allow for travel at specified times
only insofar as to limit the specific hardship caused by the expulsion;
and
(b) Fine the individual two
hundred fifty dollars for the first offense and five hundred dollars for each
offense thereafter.
If, however, the violation is not proven on a "more probable
than not" basis, then the hearing official shall rescind the no trespass
warning notice. If the hearing official rescinds a no trespass warning notice,
the no trespass warning notice shall not be considered a prior no trespass
warning notice for purposes of WAC
468-300-806(3).
(6) The decision of the
hearing official is final. Any appeal of the hearing official's decision may be
made in conformance with the Washington Administrative Procedure Act,
chapter
34.05 RCW.
(7) No determination of facts made by the
hearing official under this section shall have any collateral estoppel effect
on a subsequent criminal prosecution or civil proceeding and shall not preclude
litigation of those same facts in a subsequent criminal prosecution or civil
proceeding.
(8) In no event shall
the hearing official be a person who is subordinate to the person who issued
the no trespass warning notice.
