- (a) Parties, intervenors, counsel, representatives and witnesses shall be respectful and courteous to others at all times.
- (b) During the hearing, one person shall speak at a time, without interruption by other parties, intervenors, counsel, representatives or witnesses.
- (c) The sole exception to (b) above shall be when a party, intervenor, counsel or representative objects to a question being asked.
- (d) Parties, counsel, representatives and witnesses shall not engage in angry exchanges, use obscenities, intentionally antagonize others, or make abusive or insulting comments or gestures.
- (e) If unacceptable behavior continues after one warning of the possible consequences under this rule, and the offender is not a party, the presiding officer shall bar the offender from the proceeding.
- (f) If the unacceptable behavior continues after one warning of the possible consequences under this rule, and the offender is a party, the presiding officer shall take appropriate action in accordance with He-C 201.04.
- (g) If the hearing is reconvened at a later date as a result of a party’s unacceptable behavior, and the unacceptable behavior continues, the presiding officer shall terminate the proceeding and issue a decision based on the existing record, except as provided in (h) below.
- (h) A party’s unacceptable behavior shall not be the basis for an adverse decision.
- (i) The exception to (h) above shall be where a party’s behavior interfered with the hearing process to the extent that a full and complete record sufficient to render a decision could not be obtained. In such a case, the presiding officer shall find that the non-compliant party has abandoned the appeal process and issue a decision adverse to the non-compliant party.
Source. #8866-A, eff 4-13-07