Before adjudicative hearings are held, an administrative law judge may hold one or more conferences to decide: (1) on requests from people or groups who want to intervene as parties to the adjudicative proceeding, (2) which topics are allowed to be presented and the order in which they will be considered, and (3) the schedule.
Steps in Land use and adjudication
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About this milestone
Prehearing conferences are held to organize adjudicative hearings. We hold conferences at a time and place that the Council or administrative law judge (ALJ) chooses. Conferences are usually held using a virtual meeting platform, like Microsoft Teams.
What we discuss during pre-hearing conferences
- Petitions from individuals and groups to intervene as parties
- Topics that parties would like to address with their testimony and evidence and whether the raised issues properly fit within the scope of what the Council can consider
- Agreements on facts, to avoid gathering unnecessary proof
- Witnesses that the parties will present and topics that the witnesses will speak to
- Procedures at the hearing
- How witnesses and exhibits will be presented, and how cross-examination will be conducted
Related steps
We use these conferences to set the schedule for adjudicative hearings, deciding which issues to discuss and in what order. This process ensures we give each issue enough time and attention.