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you may subpoena the witness, but you will be responsible for any witness fees, court reporter fees and other expenses of the deposition. Interrogatories are written questions the other side must answer in writing under oath. A request for production of documents is a written request to make available documents that are identified in the request. A request for admissions is a number of statements a party sends to the other side in writing and the other side must admit or deny these statements. How do I get a witness to come to the hearing? Most witnesses come voluntarily. However, in the rare instance where a party refuses to come voluntarily, a subpoena can be issued to require their testimony. Contact the Hearing Clerk well before the hearing to arrange the subpoena to require the witness to appear. You must arrange to pay required fees, including mileage, and have someone else serve the subpoenas at least 48 hours before the hearing, not counting weekends and holidays. If you subpoena experts, you may have to pay for their time to testify at the hearing as well as their time to travel to the hearing. What if I can’t be there on the day of the hearing? If you cannot attend the hearing on the date and time agreed to, you must contact the Hearing Officer’s Clerk and the other parties as soon as you know of the problem. You can ask for a new hearing date, but good cause must be shown. The sooner you make the request, the more likely it will be granted. Good cause may include circumstances beyond your control, such as your illness, illness of another household member requiring your presence, a household emergency, or the unavailability of an important witness on the day of the hearing. The provisions of section 37-90-113(2) require that a hearing shall be held within 180 days of the last day for filing objections unless otherwise agreed by all parties or ordered by the Commission. What will the hearing be like? The hearing will be very similar to a trial in court, with witnesses, exhibits and rules of evidence. An attorney may represent the other side in your case. You may be represented by an attorney or you may appear on your own behalf. It is up to you to decide whether you will hire an attorney. You may choose to represent yourself, but an attorney may be better able to present your case. All testimony will be under oath and the hearing will be voice recorded so that if an appeal of the Hearing Officer’s decision is made, a transcript of the proceeding can be prepared. When the hearing begins, each party may present an opening statement, which is a brief outline of the evidence they expect to present. The opening statement is not evidence, and neither side is required to make one. After the opening statements, each side is allowed to call witnesses who will take an oath to tell the truth. You may call witnesses and you may testify yourself. If you call witnesses, you may ask them questions about facts of your case (known as “direct examination”). After you are finished asking questions of your witness, the opposing party will ask questions of this witness (cross-examination). You may then ask more questions of your witness about matters brought up by the other side during their cross-examination (known as redirect). All parties may offer previously identified papers, documents, or other materials as exhibits. All parties have the right to object to any of the exhibits that a party requests to be admitted into evidence. The Hearing Officer then decides whether or not to allow the exhibits into evidence. After each side has presented its case, rebuttal witnesses may be called. Rebuttal witnesses may only testify to issues already brought up by the other side during the hearing. Few hearings actually involve rebuttal witnesses. The Hearing Officer may also ask questions of any witnesses at any time. After all testimony has been heard and the documents received, the Hearing Officer may allow each side to make a closing argument. Closing arguments can only address facts brought out in testimony of the witnesses or in exhibits received into evidence. Closing argument is not a chance to testify and you my not mention things that were not received in evidence. Sometimes the Hearing Officer may allow the parties to make closing argument in writing after the hearing. When will I get a decision? After closing arguments have been presented, the hearing is concluded. Usually the Hearing Officer will not announce the decision at this time. Instead, he/she will take it under consideration and a written decision will be forthcoming within 30 days. Can I appeal the Hearing Officer’s decision? Any party, including the staff, can file with the Commission an appeal of the Hearing Officer’s initial decision within 30 days of service of the initial decision (Note: designation of the record is required within 20 days of service of the initial decision). There are specific requirements for how such an appeal must be filed and for designation of the record and other matters [see CRS 24-4-105(14)&(15)]. The Commission has a policy dated November 22, 1992, which allows the time for appeal to be extended upon the request of an individual Commission member. Appeals are directed to the Commission and are mailed or delivered to the office of the State Engineer as executive director of the Commission. Once an appeal is filed, the Hearing Officer is no longer directly involved in the case. If an appeal is filed with the Commission, a hearing is scheduled before the entire Commission. Usually this will be at a regular meeting of the Commission (Quarterly). At this hearing the Commission may affirm or modify the Hearing Officer’s Initial Decision, remand the matter back to the Hearing Officer, or set aside the Hearing Officer’s decision and adopt its own decision. Absent an appeal, the Hearing Officer’s Initial Decision becomes the Final Commission Decision. Confirmation that no appeal was filed, in the form of a final order of the Commission, is mailed to all the parties as soon as possible after expiration of the appeal period. The recorded hearing proceedings are not generally transcribed. If there is an appeal of Initial Decision, the Hearing Officer will cause the parts of the proceedings designated by the party seeking to reverse or modify the initial decision to be transcribed. The party seeking to reverse or modify the initial decision must pay for the cost of such transcription. Any decision of the Commission, after a hearing on a case resulting from an appeal of a Hearing Officer’s Initial Decision, may be appealed to the District Court for the county in which the water right is located. The District Court reviews the Commission’s action pursuant to 37-90-115, C.R.S (2001). Proceedings on appeals to the District Court are de novo (a new trial that is not based on the record), except that evidence taken in the agency administrative procedures may be considered as original evidence. The Commission, upon appeal, must provide a certified copy of the papers, maps, plats, field-notes, orders, decisions and other available data affecting the matter to the District Court. If a party disagrees with the decision of the District Court, the appeal is directly to the Colorado Supreme Court as a water matter. 7 PacketDistrictMay05.doc STATE OF COLORADO GROUND WATER COMMISSION Division of Water Resources Department of Natural Resources 1313 Sherman Street, Room 818 Denver, Colorado 80203 Phone (303) 866-3581 FAX (303) 866-3589 Bill Owens Governor Russell George Executive Director, DNR Hal D. Simpson, P.E. Executive Director