Hearing - Procedures and requirements generally.

San José Municipal Code § 3.04.1410

in effect

3.04.1410 - Hearing - Procedures and requirements generally. A. Whenever an answer is filed to a disciplinary action, the commission shall hold a hearing within forty-five (45) days from and after the date on which said answer is filed, or at such other time as may be agreed to by the officer or employee filing the answer and the commission. The commission shall notify the parties in writing of the time and place of the hearing. Except as provided in subsection D. below, the hearing shall be open to the public and held in the council chambers or other regular meeting place of the commission. The hearing shall be presided over by a member of the civil service commission who is admitted to practice law in the Supreme Court of the State of California, and he or she shall rule on all questions of the sufficiency of the charges, procedures, and the admission and exclusion of evidence. Such hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Section 11513 of the California Government Code, which reads as follows: 1. Oral evidence shall be taken only on oath or affirmation. 2. Each party shall have these rights: to call and examine witnesses; to introduce exhibits; to cross-examine opposing witnesses on any matter relevant to the issues even though that matter was not covered in the direct examination; to impeach any witness regardless of which party first called the witness to testify; and to rebut the evidence against the party. If the respondent does not testify in his or her own behalf, the respondent may be called and examined as if under cross- examination. 3. The hearing need not be conducted according to technical rules relating to evidence and witnesses. Any relevant evidence shall be admitted if it is the sort of evidence on which responsible persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs, regardless of the existence of any common law or statutory rule which might make improper the admission of such evidence over objection in civil actions. 4. Hearsay evidence may be used for the purpose of supplementing or explaining other evidence but shall not be sufficient in itself to support a finding unless it would be admissible over objection in a civil action. 5. The rules of privilege shall be effective to the extent that they are otherwise required by statute to be recognized at the hearing. 6. The presiding officer shall have discretion to exclude evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the probability that its admission will necessitate undue consumption of time. B. Either by deposition or at the hearing, the employee may be examined and may examine or cause any person to be examined under Section 776 of the Evidence Code. The employee shall be allowed to appear personally at the hearing, shall have the right to legal counsel or lay representation of the employee's choice at all times throughout the proceeding, and shall be allowed to produce such competent evidence in his or her own defense and in rebuttal of the charges as the employee or the employee's counsel may wish to offer. C. The commission shall supply a phonographic or stenographic reporter to record all testimony adduced at the hearing. Either the commission or the employee may order a transcript of the hearing to be prepared, and, except as provided in subsection E. below, such transcript shall be filed with the commission as a public record. If such transcript is ordered by the employee or the employee's representative, the employee shall pay the cost thereof. If such transcript is ordered by the commission, the cost thereof shall be paid from money appropriated therefor by the city council. D. The hearing for an employee in a City of San José Peace Officer Classification shall be closed to the public unless the employee requests a hearing which is open to the public. For purposes of this section, "peace officer" shall mean peace officers covered by Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (Gov. Code Sections 3300 - 3312). Representatives designated by the city manager's office and the employee's department or office shall not be considered members of the public and shall not be excluded from the hearing. E. The transcript of a hearing for an employee in a City of San José Peace Officer Classification shall be sealed unless the employee requests the transcript be made public or unless ordered open by a court of competent jurisdiction. (Prior code § 2016.8; Ords. 18347, 18394, 28314.)

Source: City of San José, Municipal Code (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/ca/san_jose/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT3PE_IPERE_CH3.04CISERU_PT11DIACDI_3.04.1410HEROREGEFetched: 11/1/2026