Hearing officers should always strive to conduct proceedings before them in an impartial, fair, and respectful manner. This requires a hearing officer to treat all persons involved in the proceeding, including the appealing or petitioning parties and their representatives, the agency, agency staff or representatives, witnesses, interpreters, interveners, observers, and any other person who appears before the hearing officer with appropriate respect. It is not a violation of this provision for hearing officers: to reasonably ask questions during the proceeding; to reasonably state what they believe the legal analysis applicable to the case requires in order to ensure an orderly, relevant, and efficient presentation of the case; to reasonably press a party on their legal position during the course of the proceeding in order to test the contours of an issue; to reasonably encourage resolution or narrowing of the issues in a case; and to take other reasonable actions necessary to ensure the conduct of an orderly hearing, or gain control of a hearing if a party violates the decorum of the proceeding, such as but not limited to reprimanding a participant for continuing inappropriate, disrespectful, or disruptive conduct.
N.M. Admin. Code § 22.600.2.14