Contested case hearing

Contested case hearing is the name for quasi-judicial administrative hearings governed by state law.^[which?] State agencies that make decisions that could affect people's "rights, duties, and privileges" must have a process for holding contested case hearings. The purpose of these hearings is to provide the decision-makers with the most complete and relevant information they need to make a proper decision. These hearings are like an informal court proceeding. They have three parts:

I. Pre-hearing: where the parties and scope of the hearing is decided

II. Hearing: where witnesses are called to testify and evidence is submitted

III. Post-hearing: where the parties propose and advocate for a particular outcome

After these three phases are complete, the decision-makers decide to either approve, deny, or approve with conditions whatever it is that is being proposed. The decision can either be made at the final hearing or a later public meeting.

One of the fundamental rights afforded to parties in contested cases is the right to cross examine evidence presented against that party. Section 5 USC 556(d) contains the fundamental right to cross examine evidence used in adjudicative hearings on the record. The statute begins by articulating the substantial evidence test, which actually requires that decisions be made on "reliable, probative and substantial evidence", as follows:

The APA then continues by making it clear that reliability depends upon cross examination:

The 1947 Attorney General's Manual on the Administrative Procedure Act, issued as a contemporaneous explanation of the Act, emphasizes the importance of the right of cross examination in adjudicative hearings to assure fundamental fairness. The Manual begins by explaining that technical rules of evidence will not be followed, provided that agency action is supported by reliable, probative and substantial evidence:

But the Attorney General's Manual makes it clear that neither the relaxation of the rules of evidence, nor the admission of documentary evidence, may swallow up the right of cross examination. The United States must produce its witnesses for cross examination.

The Manual continues: