ATC: Office of the Prosecutor

Prehearing Conferences:

Until further notice prehearing conferences will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams. If you received a prehearing conference notice, connect to the hearing at your designated date and time using any smart device and the Join Microsoft Teams Meeting link below. Alternatively, you can also connect using the below conference number and ID.

How to Connect to Prehearing Conferences

2nd Monday: Click here to join the meeting or +1 317-552-1674 United States, Indianapolis (Toll) | Conference ID: 314 274 487#

4th Monday: Click here to join the meeting or +1 317-552-1674 United States, Indianapolis (Toll) | Conference ID: 228 218 231#

OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTOR

Indiana Code 7.1-2-2-1

By statute, the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission's Prosecutor is appointed by the Governor for a term of four (4) years, and has the following powers and duties:

To prosecute before the commission all violations of laws pertaining to alcohol, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco, including violations pertaining to tobacco vending machines;
To prosecute before the Commission all violations of the rules and regulations of the Commission;
To assist the prosecuting attorneys of the various judicial circuits in the investigation and prosecution of violations of laws pertaining to alcohol, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco, including violations pertaining to tobacco vending machines, and to represent the state in these matters;
To appear before grand juries to assist in their investigations into matters pertaining to alcohol, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco, including matters pertaining to tobacco vending machines;
To establish a seal of his office;
To administer oaths and to do all other acts authorized by law for notaries public; and,
To employ, with the consent of the Commission and at salaries fixed by the Commission in their budget, the clerical staff required by him to effectively discharge his duties.

Andrew Wignall is the appointed Prosecutor for the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. He can be reached by mail at 302 W. Washington St, IGCS Room E-114, Indianapolis, IN, 46204, or by email at awignall@atc.in.gov.

Sanctions

Indiana Code 7.1-3-23-1

The Commission may:

(1) fine or suspend or revoke the permit or certificate of; or

(2) fine and suspend or revoke the permit or certificate of;

a permittee for the violation of a provision of this alcohol statutes or of a rule or regulation of the Commission. The Commission may fine a permittee for each day the violation continues if the violation is of a continuing nature.

The Commission may impose upon a permittee the following civil penalties:

(1) An amount of not more than four thousand dollars ($4,000) for each violation if the permittee is a brewer, an artisan distiller, or a distiller.

(2) An amount of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) for each violation if the permittee is a wholesaler of any type.

(3) An amount of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each violation if the permittee is the holder of a permit of a type not listed in subdivision (1) or (2).

Permit Violation Procedures

905 IAC 1-37-1

Initiation:

A violation proceeding is initiated by the serving of a notice of violation. This notice of violation is drafted by the Prosecutor for the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission and mailed to the address on file for the permittee.

Appearance:

Any party may participate in a proceeding in person or by an authorized representative. Whether or not participating in person, any party may be advised and represented at the party's own expense by counsel or, unless prohibited by law, by another representative. A representative or any attorney shall serve an appearance on the commission at or before the prehearing conference.

Prehearing Conference:

The hearing judge may conduct a prehearing conference. The hearing judge for the prehearing conference shall set the time and place of the conference and give reasonable written notice to all parties.

The prehearing conference shall be held in person at the commission's hearing room, but the hearing judge, at his or her discretion, may conduct all or part of the prehearing conference by telephone, television, or other electronic means if each participant in the conference has an opportunity to participate in, and to hear the entire proceeding while it is taking place.

(b) The hearing judge shall conduct the prehearing conference, as may be appropriate, to deal with such matters as the following:

(1) Resolution of the issues in the proceeding.

(2) Exploration of settlement possibilities.

(3) Preparation of issues.

(4) Clarification of stipulations.

(5) Rulings on identity and limitation of the number of witnesses.

(6) Objections to proffers of evidence.

(7) A determination of the extent to which direct evidence, rebuttal evidence, or cross-examination will be presented in written form.

(8) The order of presentation of evidence and cross-examination.

(9) Rulings regarding issuance of subpoenas, discovery orders, and protective orders.

(10) Such other matters as will promote the orderly and prompt conduct of the hearing.

Failure to Appear:

At any stage of a proceeding, if a permittee fails to attend or participate in a prehearing conference, hearing, or other stage of the proceeding, the hearing judge may issue an order to show cause why the permit should not be revoked and set a hearing on said order within thirty (30) days. The order shall include the date, time, and place of the hearing and the reason for the order. Said order shall be sent by certified mail to the permittee. At the hearing on the order to show cause, evidence will be taken on the issue of the permittee's failure to appear and sanctions may be imposed including a fine, suspension, or revocation. After the hearing and any subsequent order, the hearing judge shall conduct any further proceedings necessary to complete the disposition of the violation.

Conduct of Hearings:

The hearing judge shall regulate the course of the proceedings in conformity with any prehearing order and in a manner without recourse to the technical, common law rules of evidence applicable to civil actions in the course.

To the extent necessary for full disclosure of all relevant facts and issues, the hearing judge shall afford to all parties the opportunity to respond, present evidence and argument, conduct cross-examination, and submit rebuttal evidence, except as restricted by a limitation under subsection (d) or by the prehearing order.

The hearing judge may, after a prehearing order is issued, impose conditions upon a party necessary to avoid unreasonably burdensome or repetitious presentations by the party, such as the following:

(1) Limiting the party's participation to designated issues in which the party has a particular interest.

(2) Limiting the party's use of discovery, cross-examination, and other procedures so as to promote the orderly, prompt, and just conduct of the proceeding.

(3) Requiring two (2) or more parties to combine their presentations of evidence and argument, cross-examination, discovery, and other participation in the proceedings.

The hearing judge may administer oaths and affirmations and rule on any offer of proof or other motion.

The hearing judge shall have the hearing recorded at the commission's expense. The commission is not required, at its expense, to prepare a transcript. Any party, at the party's expense, may cause a reporter approved by the commission to prepare a transcript from the agency's record, or cause additional recordings to be made during the hearing if the making of the additional recordings does not cause distraction or disruption. The hearing judge may charge a person who requests that the commission provide a transcript, the reasonable costs of preparing the transcript and may require that the person make a reasonable deposit before the transcript is prepared.

Evidence:

Upon proper objection, the hearing judge may exclude evidence that is irrelevant, immaterial, unduly repetitious, or excludable on constitutional or statutory grounds or on the basis of evidentiary privilege recognized in the courts. In the absence of proper objection, the hearing judge may exclude objectionable evidence. The hearing judge may admit hearsay evidence. If not objected to, the hearsay evidence may form the basis for an order. However, if the evidence is properly objected to and does not fall within a recognized exception to the hearsay rule, the resulting order may not be based solely upon the hearsay evidence.

All testimony of parties and witnesses must be made under oath or affirmation.

Any part of the evidence may be received in written form if doing so will expedite the hearing without substantial prejudice to the interests of any party.

Documentary evidence may be received in the form of a copy or excerpt. Upon request, parties shall be given an opportunity to compare the copy with the original if available.

(e) Official notice may be taken of the following:

(1) Any fact that could be judicially noticed in the courts.

(2) The records of the commission.

(3) Technical or scientific matters within the commission's specialized knowledge.

(4) Codes or standards that have been adopted by an agency of the United States or this state.

Parties must be:

(1) notified before or during the hearing, or in the proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, of the specific facts or material noticed, and the source of the facts or material noticed, including any staff memoranda and data; and

(2) if parties object to the Commission's reliance on judicially noticed facts, specific objections and their bases with supportive evidence must be put in writing as required by IC 4-21.5-3-29.

Final Orders:

After the hearing judge issues a proposed order, the commission shall issue a final order (1) accepting; (2) accepting and modifying; or (3) rejecting; the hearing judge's proposed order. The Commission may remand the matter, with or without instructions, to the hearing judge for further proceedings.