Ruling On Health Professionals’ Arrest Records Upheld After Calif. Supreme Court Refuses The Case
The decision sets the precedent that the California Medical Board can rely on arrest records as evidence that a license-holder committed professional misconduct, even if the underlying criminal case no longer exists.
San Francisco Chronicle:
Discipline Based On Arrest Records Upheld For Health Care Professionals
Doctors and other health professionals in California can be disciplined or lose their licenses for criminal conduct such as possession of illegal drugs even if they complete a pretrial treatment program and have the case erased from their record, under a ruling that has now become final. The state Supreme Court unanimously refused Wednesday to take up a physician’s appeal of a ruling that said a licensing agency, such as the California Medical Board, can rely on arrest records as evidence that a license-holder committed professional misconduct, even if the underlying criminal case no longer exists. That ruling, by a San Francisco appellate panel, is now a binding precedent for all trial courts in California. Besides doctors, it applies to other licensed medical professionals such as nurses and pharmacists. (Egelko, 3/29)