Section 303.84. Due process hearing: witnesses.

 

(1)  The accused inmate may make a request to the security director for no more than two identified witnesses in addition to the reporting employee and shall explain the relevance of the witness testimony. The inmate shall make this request within two days of the service of notice of major disciplinary hearing rights. The security director may waive the two day time limit for good cause.

(2)  After all witness requests have been received, the security director shall review them to determine whether the witnesses possess relevant information and shall be called.

(3)  Written witness statements shall only be accepted if approved by the hearing officer. The hearing officer may consider a legibly printed written statement limited to 500 words on no more than two sheets of paper, a transcript of an oral statement, or a recorded statement.

(4)  Witnesses requested by the accused who are staff or inmates shall attend the disciplinary hearing unless one of the following exists:

(a) The risk of harm to the witness if the witness testifies.

(b) The witness is unavailable. Unavailability means death, transfer, release, hospitalization, or escape in the case of an inmate; unavailability means death, illness, vacation, no longer being employed at that location, or being on a different shift in the case of an employee.

(c) The testimony is irrelevant to the question of guilt or innocence.

(d) The testimony is merely cumulative of other evidence and would unduly prolong the hearing.

(5)  If the security director finds that testifying would pose a risk of harm to the witness, the hearing officer may consider a confidential statement signed under oath from that witness without revealing the witness's identity or a signed statement from an employee getting the statement from that witness. The hearing officer shall reveal the contents of the statement to the accused inmate, except the hearing officer may edit or summarize the statement to avoid revealing the identity of the witness. The hearing officer may question a confidential witness if the witness is available.

(6)  The hearing officer may consider written statements that can be corroborated in one of the following ways:

(a) By other evidence which substantially corroborates the facts alleged in the statement, including an eyewitness account by an employee or circumstantial evidence.

(b) By evidence of a very similar violation by the same inmate.

(c) Two confidential statements by different persons may be used to corroborate each other.

(7)  If it is not possible to get a signed statement in accordance with subs. (3) and (5) , the hearing officer may consider other evidence of what the witness would say if present.

(8)  After determining which witnesses shall be called for the accused inmate, staff shall notify the inmate of the decision in writing.

(9)  Witnesses other than inmates or employees may not attend hearings but the staff representative with the hearing officer's permission may contact them. The hearing officer may designate a staff member to interview the witnesses and report to the hearing officer.

(10)  The hearing officer may call additional witnesses as deemed necessary.

(11)  After a decision has been reached by the hearing officer, and if a finding of guilt results, the hearing officer shall forward restricted or confidential information to the security director for retention in a restricted file.

C R 11-022 : cr. Register September 2014 No. 705 , eff. 1-1-15.