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ITD’s Carter receives national hearing-officer certification

A law degree, more than 52 hours of training and attendance at national conferences have earned Idaho Transportation Department Hearing Officer Skip Carter national recognition through the National Association of Hearing Officials (NAHO).
Carter was recently presented with his certification as a hearing officer at NAHO’s annual conference in Charleston, SC.

“I am proud to join their ranks as certified hearing officers,” said Carter. “I have met all of the requirements of the association pertaining to education, training and preparation.”

Carter’s supervisor, Driver Services Manager Ed Pemble, said that NAHO certification is a significant achievement because of the professional training and experience it gives hearing officers.

“NAHO certification only adds to the distinguished record of education and experience that Skip brought to the hearing officer position,” said Pemble.

Carter began working for the department as a hearing officer in January 2011. He received his undergraduate degree at Columbia University and his law degree at the University of Tulsa. Prior to joining ITD, Carter worked as a defense attorney and as a deputy prosecuting attorney in eastern Idaho.

Carter said the classes he attended to earn this certification were very useful.

“The classes at NAHO have been helpful in addressing the various issues confronted by the hearing officers at ITD virtually every day,” said Carter. “NAHO is an invaluable resource for hearing officers here at ITD, as well as administrative judges in other fields.”

Carter is one of three ITD hearing officers to be certified through NAHO, joining coworkers Dave Baumann and Eric Moody.

ITD has four hearing officers that work specifically with the Administrative License Suspension (ALS) program. Each hearing officer holds approximately 25 telephonic hearings a week on the civil suspension for DUI cases. After receiving evidence, testimony and arguments, the hearing officer issuea final written decision whether to sustain or vacate the suspension.

Pemble said NAHO certification is clearly aligned with ITD’s goal of becoming the best organization by continually developing employees.

“This certification also enhances the department’s credibility by having highly capable staff assigned to hearing officer positions,” said Pemble.

Pemble believes this certification is a benefit to drivers who are requesting hearings on suspension actions.

“Certification provides a level of assurance that professionally trained decision makers will conduct fair and impartial hearings.”

To learn more about what the hearing officers do on a daily basis, they will be giving a presentation in the Auditorium on Jan. 6, 2015. Anyone can attend this hour-long presentation, which will be given in two sessions, at 8:30 a.m. and 9:45 a.m.

Pictured above: NAHO President Norman Patenaude (left) presenting certificate to Skip Carter (right)