A Evidentiary Considerations
The Parties must provide all evidence to the Investigator(s) prior to completion of the Final Investigation Report. Evidence offered after that time will be evaluated by the Decision-maker for relevance. If deemed relevant, the Parties and Decision-maker must agree to admit it into the record. If the evidence is deemed not relevant, the Decision-maker may proceed with the hearing absent the new evidence.
The new relevant evidence will be admitted to the record if:
- All Parties and the Decision-maker assent to the new evidence being included in the hearing without remanding the Formal Complaint back to the Investigator,
- The evidence is not duplicative of evidence already in the record, and
- The new evidence was either not reasonably available prior to the conclusion of the Final Investigation Report, or the failure to provide it in a timely manner was not the result of bad faith by the Parties, witnesses, or others.
If the above criteria are not met, but the evidence is deemed materially relevant and not duplicative, the Decision-maker may, at their discretion, engage in any of the following actions:
- Delay the hearing
- Provide the Parties with at least three (3) business days to review the relevant evidence
- Remand the Formal Complaint back to the Investigator for further investigation or analysis
- Allow the Parties time to review and comment on the new evidence
If the evidence is deemed not relevant, the Decision-maker may proceed with the hearing without allowing the new evidence.