California OAH special education order · June 1, 2020
Order Requiring Student to Re-Submit Improperly Marked Exhibits
OAH Case No. 2019120639, 2020050123 · ALJ Penelope S. Pahl
OAH ordered Student's counsel to resubmit and rename exhibits before hearing because several combined unrelated emails and others lacked the names required by the prehearing conference order.
Summary
The day before the consolidated hearing, the ALJ reviewed Student's electronic exhibits on her own and found they did not follow the prehearing conference order or the electronic exhibit instructions. Exhibits S2, S4, and S5 grouped emails with different senders, subject lines, and dates instead of a single email chain. Several assessment and resume exhibits were not properly named, and S7, S8, and S15 had no identification at all. Student's counsel was ordered to split, rename, and identify the exhibits in CaseLines by the morning of June 2, 2020, or before using any of them with a witness.
Why it matters
OAH enforces its exhibit rules. Each exhibit must be a single document or a true single email chain, and it must be clearly named. Families' attorneys should check uploads carefully so evidence is not delayed or challenged at hearing.
Topics
Full text of the order
Published text of the OAH order. Page headers and numbers from the original PDF have been dropped.
BEFORE THE
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE CONSOLIDATED MATTERS OF:
PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT,
v.
VENTURA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT,
OAH CASE NUMBER 2019120639
and
VENTURA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT,
v.
PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT,
OAH CASE NUMBER 2020050123
ORDER REQUIRING STUDENT TO RE-SUBMIT
IMPROPERLY MARKED EXHIBITS
JUNE 1, 2020
The consolidated cases in this matter proceed to hearing on Tuesday June 2,
2020. On May 26, 2020, Student uploaded the evidence she intends to offer as exhibits
in this matter. The uploads did not comply with the requirements stated in the Prehearing Conference order or accompanying order regarding the uploading of electronic exhibits. Specifically, Exhibits S2, S4, and S5 do not appear to be a single document or a single email chain. In addition, several exhibits are not clearly identified and some are not identified at all.
The Prehearing Conference Order stated, “Each exhibit must consist of one document. Separate documents may not be combined into one exhibit. Emails or letters may be consolidated into one exhibit if they are part of a single chain of messages. Exhibits should be in chronological order.” A single chain of emails has the same subject line and is sent on or near the same date as the original email. Student’s exhibits S2, S4 and S5 are not single email chains. Rather, they are a group of emails that have different originators and recipients, different subject lines and were exchanged on different dates. These appear to be several different documents and should, thus, be offered as separate exhibits.
Additionally, the order providing directions for uploading electronic evidence also required that the documents use a naming convention that identified the documents.
Several of Student’s exhibits fail to identify the type of assessment or the name of the person whose resume is being offered. Student shall rename the assessment and resume exhibits to comply with the required naming conventions. Examples were provided in the order regarding the filing of electronic exhibits. It is also notable that Student’s S7, S8, and S15 have no identification at all in the title. They may be a continuation of an assessment for which some pages were uploaded as a prior exhibit. If that is so, it is recommended that the entire assessment report be uploaded as a single exhibit.
Student’s counsel is hereby ordered to resubmit Student’s exhibits S2, S4 and S5 in a manner that complies with the Prehearing Conference order. Student’s counsel is also ordered to rename the assessments to identify which assessment it is and to combine all pages of a single assessment report as a single exhibit. Resume exhibits must be renamed to properly identify the person offering the resume as a summary of their credentials.
Exhibits S7, S8 and S15 must be identified in CaseLines prior to offering those exhibits as evidence in the hearing in the matter. This must be completed by the morning of June 2, 2020, or prior to referencing the exhibit in question with a witness or offering it as an exhibit.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Penelope S. Pahl Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings