What is a Pre-Hearing Meeting?
An important step of the hearing procedures occurs before the hearing is even scheduled. This step, known as the Pre-Hearing Meeting, is structured to explain the hearing process, address questions, begin to define the scope of the hearing, and address other issues to promote an orderly, productive and fair hearing. Both the Hearing Coordinator and Hearing Officer are present for this meeting.
Preparing for the Pre-Hearing Meeting
Parties should keep in mind that the Hearing Officer will already have access to the following:
- Investigative Report & Attachments
- Hearing Referral & Information about which party is contesting
Guidelines for submitting additional information:
The items listed below, as examples of additional information, must be turned in to the Hearing Coordinator (hearingcoordinator@berkeley.edu) 5 business days before the Pre-Hearing Meeting occurs.
- A statement of issues the party considers to be in dispute and relevant to the determination of whether a policy violation occurred.
- A list of witnesses with a short description of their expected testimony or relevance to the hearing.
- Any additional documentation not originally submitted to OPHD (text message screenshots, emails, etc.).
Parties should also come to the Pre-Hearing Meeting prepared to discuss the following:
- Their availability to participate in a hearing
- Any requests for Measures to Protect Well-being
- Questions about the pre-hearing or hearing process
After the Pre-Hearing Meeting
- This scope is generally distributed 5 business days after the last Pre-Hearing Meeting.
- The parties have a second opportunity to submit information after the Pre-Hearing Meetings conclude.
- 5 business days after the initial hearing scope is sent out, the parties can submit additional evidence, suggested witnesses, or disputed facts.
- This opportunity also allows parties to include arguments as to why evidence or witnesses previously excluded by the Hearing Officer should be included in the scope of the hearing.