You have the right to present witnesses to support your case. Choose witnesses who actually saw or heard what happened. Notify them of the time and date of the hearing and arrange for them to be available for the hearing. When the hearing begins, give the hearing officer the telephone number where each witness can be reached for the hearing.

If a witness refuses your request to speak or supply papers, you can ask your hearing officer to issue a subpoena. A subpoena is a written, legal order that, in this case, makes a witness testify in the hearing or makes them produce certain papers needed for the hearing. If a written order is necessary, your hearing officer will take care of obtaining the subpoena; however, the process takes several days, so allow plenty of time when asking for one. The hearing officer is the person responsible for determining whether a subpoena is necessary.

All hearings are recorded. Your testimony is a very important part of the hearing, but before we can begin taking testimony the law requires us to give a very specific opening statement at the beginning of each hearing. These opening statements include:

• Information identifying the case for the record
• What determination and issues are on appeal
• Who is taking part in the hearing
• Each parties’ rights
• The procedures used for the hearing.

The hearing officer will put everyone who will be speaking under oath. Then the hearing officer will answer any questions about the opening statement before hearing any testimony. If you have more than one person present, the hearing officer will ask you to designate a primary representative. That primary representative will be able to:

• Question the witnesses
• Give their own testimony
• Look at and object to documents.