45 C.F.R. Subpart A—Hearings and Reports
Title 45 - Public Welfare
Title 45: Public Welfare
PART 702—RULES ON HEARINGS, REPORTS, AND MEETINGS OF THE COMMISSION
Subpart A—Hearings and Reports
§ 702.1 Definitions.
For purposes of this part, the following definitions shall apply unless otherwise provided:
(a) The Act means the United States Commission on Civil Rights Act of 1983, 97 Stat. 1301, as amended by the Civil Rights Commission Amendments Act of 1994, 108 Stat. 4339, codified in 42 U.S.C. 1975 through 1975d.
(b) The Commission means the United States Commission on Civil Rights or, as provided in §702.2, to any authorized subcommittee thereof.
(c) The Chairperson means the Chairperson of the Commission or authorized subcommittee thereof or to any acting Chairperson of the Commission or of such subcommittee.
(d) Proceeding means collectively to any public session of the Commission and executive session held in connection therewith.
(e) Hearing means collectively to a public session of the Commission and any executive session held in connection therewith, including the attendance of witnesses or the production of written or other matters for which subpoenas have been issued.
(f) Witnesses are persons subpoenaed to attend and testify or produce written or other matter.
(g) The rules in this part means the Rules on Hearings of the Commission.
(h) Report means statutory reports or portions thereof issued pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1975a(c).
(i) Verified answer means an answer the truth of which is substantiated by oath or affirmation attested to by a notary public or other person who has legal authority to administer oaths.
§ 702.2 Authorization for hearing.
Under 42 U.S.C. 1975a(e)(1) the Commission or, on the authorization of the Commission, any subcommittee of two or more members, at least one of whom shall be of each major political party, may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of the Act, hold such hearings and act at such times and locations as the Commission or such authorized subcommittee may deem advisable. The holding of hearings by the Commission or the appointment of a subcommittee to hold hearings pursuant to this section must be approved by a majority of the Commission or by a majority of the members present at a meeting at which at least a quorum of five members is present.
§ 702.3 Notice of hearing.
At least 30 days prior to the commencement of any hearing, the Commission shall publish in the
§ 702.4 Subpoenas.
(a) Subpoenas for the attendance and testimony of witnesses or the production of written or other matter may be issued by the Commission over the signature of the Chairperson and may be served by any person designated by the Chairperson.
(b) A witness compelled to appear before the Commission or required to produce written or other matter shall be served with a copy of the rules in this part at the time of service of the subpoena.
(c) The Commission may issue subpoenas for the attendance and testimony of witnesses or for the production of written or other matter. Such a subpoena may not require the presence of a witness more than 100 miles outside the location wherein the witness is found or resides or is domiciled or transacts business or has appointed an agent for receipt of service of process.
(d) The Chairperson shall receive and the Commission shall dispose of requests to subpoena additional witnesses except as otherwise provided in §702.6(e).
(e) Requests for subpoenas shall be in writing, supported by a showing of the general relevance and materiality of the evidence sought. Witness fees and mileage shall be computed and paid pursuant to §702.15.
(f) Subpoenas shall be issued at a reasonably sufficient time in advance of their scheduled return, in order to give subpoenaed persons an opportunity to prepare for their appearance and to employ counsel, should they so desire.
(g) No subpoenaed document or information contained therein shall be made public unless it is introduced into and received as part of the official record of the hearing.
§ 702.5 Conduct of proceedings.
(a) The Chairperson shall announce in an opening statement the subject of the proceedings.
(b) Following the opening statement, the Commission shall first convene in executive session if one is required pursuant to the provisions of §702.6.
(c) The Chairperson, subject to the approval of the Commission, shall:
(1) Set the order of presentation of evidence and appearance of witnesses;
(2) Rule on objections and motions;
(3) Administer oaths and affirmations;
(4) Make all rulings with respect to the introduction into or exclusion from the record of documentary or other evidence;
(5) Regulate the course and decorum of the proceedings and the conduct of the parties and their counsel to ensure that the proceedings are conducted in a fair and impartial manner.
(d) Proceedings shall be conducted with reasonable dispatch and due regard shall be had for the convenience and necessity of witnesses.
(e) The questioning of witnesses shall be conducted only by Members of the Commission, by authorized Commission staff personnel, or by counsel to the extent provided in §702.7.
(f) In addition to persons served with a copy of the rules in this part pursuant to §§702.4 and 702.6, a copy of the rules in this part will be made available to all witnesses.
(g) The Chairperson may punish breaches of order and decorum by censure and exclusion from the proceedings.
§ 702.6 Executive session.
(a) If the Commission determines that evidence or testimony at any hearing may tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person, it shall receive such evidence or testimony or summary of such evidence or testimony in executive session.
(b) The Commission shall afford any persons defamed, degraded, or incriminated by such evidence or testimony an opportunity to appear and be heard in executive session, with a reasonable number of additional witnesses requested by them, before deciding to use such evidence or testimony.
(1) Such person shall be served with notice, in writing, at least 10 days prior to the date, time, and location for the appearance of witnesses at executive session or where service is by mail at least 14 days prior to such date. This notice shall be accompanied by a copy of the rules in this part and by a brief summary of the information that the Commission has determined may tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate such person;
(2) The notice, summary, and rules in this part shall be served by certified mail or by leaving a copy thereof at the last known residence or business address of such person; and
(3) The date of service, for purposes of this section, shall be the day when the material is deposited in the mail or is delivered in person, whichever is applicable. When service is made by mail, the return post office receipt shall be proof of service; in all other cases, the acknowledgment of the party served or the verified return of the one making service shall be proof of the same.
(c) If a person receiving notice under this section notifies the Commission within five days of service of such notice or where service is by mail within eight days of service of such notice that the scheduled appearance constitutes a hardship, the Commission may, in its discretion, set a new date or time for such person's appearance at the executive session.
(d) In the event such persons fail to appear at executive session at the time and location scheduled under paragraph (b) or (c) of this section, they shall not be entitled to another opportunity to appear at executive session, except as provided in §702.11.
(e) If such persons intend to submit sworn statements of themselves or others, or if they intend that witnesses appear in their behalf at executive session, they shall, no later than 48 hours prior to the time set under paragraph (b) or (c) of this section, submit to the Commission all such statements and a list of all witnesses. The Commission will inform such persons whether the number of witnesses requested is reasonable within the meaning of paragraph (b) of this section. In addition, the Commission will receive and dispose of requests from such persons to subpoena other witnesses. Requests for subpoenas shall be made sufficiently in advance of the scheduled executive session to afford subpoenaed persons reasonable notice of their obligation to appear at that session. Subpoenas returnable at executive session shall be governed by the provisions of §702.4.
(f) Persons for whom an executive session has been scheduled, and persons compelled to appear at such session, may be represented by counsel at such session to the extent provided by §702.7.
(g) Attendance at executive session shall be limited to Commissioners; authorized Commission staff personnel; witnesses, and their counsel at the time scheduled for their appearance; and such other persons whose presence is requested or consented to by the Commission.
(h) In the event the Commission determines to release or to use evidence or testimony that it has determined may tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any persons in such a manner as to reveal publicly their identity, such evidence or testimony, prior to such public release or use, will be presented at a public session, and the Commission will afford them an opportunity to appear as voluntary witnesses or to file a sworn statement in their own behalf and to submit brief and pertinent sworn statements of others.
§ 702.7 Counsel.
(a) Persons compelled to appear in person before the Commission and any witness appearing at a public session of the Commission will be accorded the right to be accompanied and advised by counsel, who will have the right to subject their clients to reasonable examination, make objections on the record, and briefly argue the basis for such objections.
(b) For the purpose of this section, counsel shall mean an attorney at law admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States or the highest court of any State or Territory of the United States.
(c) Failure of any persons to obtain counsel shall not excuse them from attendance in response to a subpoena, nor shall any persons be excused in the event their counsel is excluded from the proceeding pursuant to §702.6(g). In the latter case, however, such persons shall be afforded a reasonable time to obtain other counsel, said time to be determined by the Commission.
§ 702.8 Evidence at Commission proceedings.
(a) The rules of evidence prevailing in courts of law or equity shall not control proceedings of the Commission.
(b) Where a witness testifying at a public session of a hearing or a session for return of subpoenaed documents offers the sworn statements of other persons, such statements, in the discretion of the Commission, may be included in the record, provided they are received by the Commission 24 hours in advance of the witness' appearance.
(c) The prepared statement of a witness testifying at a public session of a hearing, in the discretion of the Commission, may be placed into the record, provided that such statement is received by the Commission 24 hours in advance of the witness' appearance.
(d) In the discretion of the Commission, evidence may be included in the record after the close of a public session of a hearing provided the Commission determines that such evidence does not tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person.
(e) The Commission will determine the pertinence of testimony and evidence adduced at its proceedings and may refuse to include in the record of a proceeding or may strike from the record any evidence it considers to be cumulative, immaterial, or not pertinent.
§ 702.9 Cross-examination at public session.
If the Commission determines that oral testimony of a witness at a public session tends to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person, such person, or through counsel, shall be permitted to submit questions to the Commission in writing, which, in the discretion of the Commission, may be put to such witness by the Chairperson or by authorized Commission staff personnel.
§ 702.10 Voluntary witnesses at public session of a hearing.
A person who has not been subpoenaed and who has not been afforded an opportunity to appear pursuant to §702.6 may be permitted, in the discretion of the Commission, to make an oral or written statement at a public session of a hearing. Such person may be questioned to the same extent and in the same manner as other witnesses before the Commission.
§ 702.11 Special executive session.
If, during the course of a public session, evidence is submitted that was not previously presented at executive session and that the Commission determines may defame, degrade, or incriminate any person, the provisions of §702.6 shall apply and such extensions, recesses or continuances of the public session shall be ordered by the Commission, as it deems necessary. The time and notice requirements of §702.6 may be modified by the Commission provided reasonable notice of a scheduled executive session is afforded such person; the Commission may, in its discretion, strike such evidence from the record, in which case the provisions of §702.6 shall not apply.
§ 702.12 Contempt of the Commission.
Proceedings and process of the Commission are governed by 42 U.S.C. 1975a(e)(2), which provides that in case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpoena, the Attorney General may in a Federal court of appropriate jurisdiction obtain an appropriate order to enforce the subpoena.
§ 702.13 Intimidation of witnesses.
Witnesses at Commission proceedings are protected by the provisions of 18 U.S.C. 1505, which provide that whoever, with intent to avoid, evade, prevent, or obstruct compliance, in whole or in part, with any civil investigative demand duly and properly made under the Antitrust Civil Process Act, willfully withholds, misrepresents, removes from any place, conceals, covers up, destroys, mutilates, alters, or by other means falsifies any documentary material, answers to written interrogatories, or oral testimony, which is the subject of such demand; or attempts to do so or solicits another to do so; or whoever corruptly, or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication influences, obstructs, or impedes or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper administration of the law under which any pending proceeding is being had before any department or agency of the United States, or the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which any inquiry or investigation is being had by either House, or any committee of either House or any joint committee of the Congress shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
§ 702.14 Transcript of Commission proceedings.
(a) An accurate transcript shall be made of the testimony of all witnesses at all proceedings of the Commission. Transcripts shall be recorded solely by the official reporter or by any other person or means designated by the Commission.
(b) Every person who submits data or evidence shall be entitled to retain or, on payment of lawfully prescribed costs, procure a copy or transcript thereof, except that witnesses in a hearing held in executive session may be limited, for good cause, to inspection of the official transcript of their testimony. Transcript copies of public sessions may be obtained by the public upon the payment of the cost thereof.
(c) Persons who have presented testimony at a proceeding may ask within 60 days after the close of the proceeding to correct errors in the transcript of their testimony. Such requests shall be granted only to make the transcript conform to their testimony as presented at the proceeding.
§ 702.15 Witness fees.
A witness attending any session of the Commission shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are paid witnesses in the courts of the United States. Mileage payments must be tendered at the witness' request upon service of a subpoena issued on behalf of the Commission or any subcommittee thereof.
§ 702.16 Attendance of news media at public sessions.
Reasonable access for coverage of public sessions shall be provided to the various communications media, including newspapers, magazines, radio, newsreels, and television, subject to the physical limitations of the room in which the session is held and consideration of the physical comfort of Commission members, staff, and witnesses. However, no witnesses shall be televised, filmed, or photographed during the session nor shall the testimony of any witness be broadcast or recorded for broadcasting if the witness objects.
§ 702.17 Communications with respect to Commission proceedings.
During any proceeding held outside Washington, DC, communications to the Commission with respect to such proceeding must be made to the Chairperson or authorized Commission staff personnel in attendance. All requests for subpoenas returnable at a hearing, requests for appearance of witnesses at a hearing, and statements or other documents for inclusion in the record of a proceeding, required to be submitted in advance, must be submitted to the Chairperson, or such authorized person as the Chairperson may appoint, at an office located in the community where such hearing or proceeding is scheduled to be held. The location of such office will be set forth in all subpoenas issued under the rules in this part and in all notices prepared pursuant to §706.2.
§ 702.18 Commission reports.
(a) If a Commission report tends to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person, the report or relevant portions thereof shall be delivered to such person at least 30 days before the report is made public to allow such person to make a timely verified answer to the report. The Commission shall afford such person an opportunity to file with the Commission a verified answer to the report or relevant portions thereof not later than 20 days after service as provided by the regulations in this part.
(1) Such person shall be served with a copy of the report or relevant portions thereof, with an indication of the section(s) that the Commission has determined tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate such person, a copy of the Act, and a copy of the regulations in this part.
(2) The report or relevant portions thereof, the Act, and regulations in this part shall be served by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by leaving a copy thereof at the last known residence or business address or the agent of such person.
(3) The date of service for the purposes of this section shall be the day the material is delivered either by the post office or otherwise, to such person or the agent of such person or at the last known residence or business address of such person. The acknowledgement of the party served or the verified return of the one making service shall be proof of service except that when service is made by mail, the return post office receipt shall also constitute proof of same.
(b) If a person receiving a Commission report or relevant portions thereof under this part requests an extension of time from the Commission within seven days of service of such report, the Commission may, upon a showing of good cause, grant the person additional time within which to file a verified answer.
(c) A verified answer shall plainly and concisely state the facts and law constituting the person's reply or defense to the charges or allegations contained in the report.
(d) Such verified answer shall be published as an appendix to the report; however, the Commission may except from the answer such matter as it determines to be scandalous, prejudicial, or unnecessary.
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