STUDY HEARING OFFICER FOR PREJUDGMENT AND INVOLVEMENT

   The only branch of law that compares with the railroad investigation is the administrative Procedure that has developed during the Roosevelt administration to deal with governmental employees.

   The Administrative Procedure Act of 1946, Section 5(e) provides that "no such hearing examiner) shall consult any person or party of any fact in issue unless upon notice and opportunity for all parties to participate; nor shall such officer be responsible 3 or subject to the supervision or direction of any officer, employee, or agent engaged in the performance of investigative or prosecuting functions for any agency."

      In the minds of some, the railroads have made no attempt to encourage impartiality in their hearing officers, with the possible exception of the Baltimore and Ohio, who, by creating special hearing officers, have placed a trained and experienced officer with a theoretical disinterestedness in charge of the investigation.

   The smaller the railroad and the smaller the division, the more likely you are to get as hearing officer an officer that has been involved in or prejudged the case, since the operating officer and the hearing officer are the same and the operating officer has passed a decision or opinion on the case previously to the hearing. It is up to the representative to ferret out this prejudgment.