WHAT HAPPENS AT A CIVIL SERVICE HEARING?
The Civil Service Hearing is a formal adjudicatory process. When the hearing begins, each party may present an opening statement, which tells the commissioner what the party intends to prove. Each party can then offer evidence to prove its case. Evidence can be sworn testimony taken under oath at the hearing or it can be certain kinds of documents. To be admissible, evidence must meet certain legal requirements. For example, evidence must relate to the issues to be decided. Testimony must be based on personal knowledge, not on hearsay. Affidavits, written statements and correspondence usually are hearsay unless the author of the statement is present for the hearing and actually testifies.
