{"data":{"id":"us/21-cfr-12.70","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"21 CFR 12.70","heading":"Authority of presiding officer.","body":"The presiding officer has all powers necessary to conduct a fair, expeditious, and orderly hearing, including the power to—\n(a) Specify and change the date, time, and place of oral hearings and conferences;\n(b) Establish the procedures for use in developing evidentiary facts, including the procedures in § 12.92(b) and to rule on the need for oral testimony and cross-examination under § 12.87(b);\n(c) Prepare statements of the areas of factual disagreement among the participants;\n(d) Hold conferences to settle, simplify, or determine the issues in a hearing or to consider other matters that may expedite the hearing;\n(e) Administer oaths and affirmations;\n(f) Control the course of the hearing and the conduct of the participants;\n(g) Examine witnesses and strike their testimony if they fail to respond fully to proper questions;\n(h) Rule on, admit, exclude, or limit evidence;\n(i) Set the time for filing pleadings;\n(j) Rule on motions and other procedural matters;\n(k) Rule on motions for summary decision under § 12.93;\n(l) Conduct the hearing in stages if the number of parties is large or the issues are numerous and complex;\n(m) Waive, suspend, or modify any rule in this subpart under § 10.19 if the presiding officer determines that no party will be prejudiced, the ends of justice will be served, and the action is in accordance with law;\n(n) Strike the participation of any person under § 12.45(e) or exclude any person from the hearing under § 12.90, or take other reasonable disciplinary action; and\n(o) Take any action for the fair, expeditious, and orderly conduct of the hearing.","path":["Title 21—Food and Drugs","CHAPTER I—FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","SUBCHAPTER A—GENERAL","PART 12—FORMAL EVIDENTIARY PUBLIC HEARING","Subpart D—Presiding Officer"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-21.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:24:47Z","sha256":"b3f5291143ec6831bec26d295b83501e0a208a048417b82c15bd91dd4564bf78","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/21-cfr-12.62","next":"us/21-cfr-12.75"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}