- (a) The presiding officer shall rule on the admissibility of evidence and may, when appropriate, take official notice of facts in accordance with all applicable requirements of law.
(b)
- (1) Stipulation of facts is encouraged.
- (2) The Arkansas Board of Dispensing Opticians may make a decision based on stipulated facts.
(c)
- (1) Evidence in the proceeding must be confined to the issues set forth in the hearing notice, unless the parties waive their right to such notice or the presiding officer determines that good cause justifies expansion of the issues.
- (2) If the presiding officer decides to admit evidence outside the scope of the notice, over the objection of a party who did not have actual notice of those issues, that party, upon timely request, will receive a continuance sufficient to prepare for the additional issue and to permit amendment of pleadings.
(d)
- (1) A party seeking admission of an exhibit must provide twelve (12) copies of each exhibit at the hearing.
- (2) The presiding officer must provide the opposing parties with an opportunity to examine the exhibit prior to the ruling on its admissibility.
(3) All exhibits admitted into evidence must be:
- (A) Appropriately marked; and
- (B) Made part of the record.
(e)
- (1) Any party may object to specific evidence or may request limits on the scope of the examination or cross-examination.
- (2) A brief statement of the grounds upon which it is based shall accompany such an objection.
- (3) The objection, the ruling on the objection, and the reasons for the ruling will be noted in the record.
(4) The presiding officer may:
- (A) Rule on the objection at the time it is made; or
- (B) Reserve the ruling until the written decision.
(f)
- (1) Whenever evidence is ruled inadmissible, the party offering that evidence may submit an offer of proof on the record.
- (2) The party making the offer of proof for excluded oral testimony will briefly summarize the testimony or, with permission of the presiding officer, present the testimony.
- (3) If the excluded evidence consists of a document or exhibit, it shall be marked as part of an offer of proof and inserted in the record.
(g)
- (1) Irrelevant, immaterial, and unduly repetitive evidence will be excluded.
- (2) Any other oral or documentary evidence, not privileged, may be received if it is of a type commonly relied upon by reasonably prudent men and women in the conduct of their affairs.
- (h) Reasonable inferences. The finder of fact may base its findings of fact upon reasonable inferences derived from other evidence received.