Step 5 prehearing information exchange

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-026780",
  "term": "Step 5 prehearing information exchange",
  "field": "Environment",
  "term_source": "Step 5 Prehearing Information Exchange",
  "definition": "Shortly after the Chief Judge designates an ALJ to preside over the litigation of the case, the ALJ issues a “Prehearing Order” directing the parties to prepare for the hearing and setting specific deadlines for prehearing procedures. The prehearing procedures applicable in enforcement proceedings are designed to have the parties compile and share information so that surprises at the hearing are avoided. In other words, the mechanisms in a Prehearing Order should ensure that parties will, in advance of the hearing, have not only adequate notice of the contested issues in the case, but also the opportunity to thoroughly prepare to address those issues at the hearing. To that end, the Rules of Practice require each party to submit a “Prehearing Information Exchange” or “Prehearing Exchange.”40 The Prehearing Exchange in enforcement proceedings is equivalent to “discovery” in federal court cases. To make sure that the parties share the information as directed, the Prehearing Order directs that at the hearing, the parties will be prohibited from presenting any information that they did not previously exchange.",
  "subject": "Regulatory activities",
  "references": [
    "Office of Administrative Law Judges Citizen’s Guide October 2010 at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2013-09/documents/citizens-guide.pdf"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/step-5-prehearing-information-exchange/"
}