In addition to large fines, driver’s license suspension, potential jail time, and a criminal conviction that can stay on one’s record for many years, being convicted of a California DUI also include other life-changing penalties. For professionals such as a medical doctor, there is the potential for the suspension or permanent loss of the professional license to practice medicine.
For medical practitioners, the Medical Board of California is the governing body that oversees medical licenses in the state of California. When convicted of a DUI, California doctors are required to immediately report the outcome of the court case to the board via an 802 Report entitled Physician Reporting – Criminal Actions, and can be located at: http://www.mbc.ca.gov/Forms/Reporting/enf-802.pdf
Section 802.1 of the California Business and Professions Code states:
(a)(1) A physician and surgeon, osteopathic physician and surgeon, and a doctor of podiatric medicine and a
physician assistant
shall report either of the following to the entity that
issued his or her license:
(A) The bringing of an indictment or information charging a felony against the licensee.
(B) The conviction of the licensee, including any verdict of guilty, or plea of guilty or no contest, of any felony or
misdemeanor.
(2) The
report required by this subdivision shall be made in writing within 30 days of the date of the bringing of the
indictment or information or of the conviction.
(b) Failure to make a report required by this section shall be a public offense punishable by a
fine not to exceed five
thousand dollars ($5,000).23
This report is matched against the report that is received by the medical board from the Justice Department. Each criminal conviction, misdemeanor, or felony is evaluated by the board on a case-by-case basis. The board will evaluate the underlying issues that led to the arrest.
A License Suspension is Not Automatic
When evaluating a case, the Division of Medical Quality of the Medical Board of California examines the criminal history of the physician and whether or not factors surrounding the DUI conviction are “substantially related to the qualifications, functions or duties of a physician”, and could compromise the physician’s ability to do his/her job. The board tries to determine if the circumstances that surround the arrest constitutes “unprofessional conduct”. If so the board may temporarily or permanently suspend the doctor from practicing medicine.
Unprofessional Conduct
As it applies to medical practitioners, unprofessional conduct is explained in the California Business and Professional Code in Section 2239 as follows:
“(a) The use or prescribing for or administering to himself or herself, of any controlled substance; or the use of any of the dangerous drugs specified in Section 4022, or of alcoholic beverages, to the extent, or in such a manner as to be dangerous or injurious to the licensee, or to any other person or to the public, or to the extent that such use impairs the ability of the licensee to practice medicine safely or more than one misdemeanor or any felony involving the use, consumption, or self-administration of any of the substances referred to in this section, or any combination thereof, constitutes unprofessional conduct. The record of the conviction is conclusive evidence of such unprofessional conduct.
(b) A plea or verdict of guilty or a conviction following a plea of nolo contendere is deemed to be a conviction within the meaning of this section. The Division of Medical Quality may order discipline of the licensee in accordance with Section 2227 or the Division of Licensing may order the denial of the license when the time for appeal has elapsed or the judgment of conviction has been affirmed on appeal or when an order granting probation is made suspending imposition of sentence, irrespective of a subsequent order under the provisions of Section 1203.4 of the Penal Code allowing such person to withdraw his or her plea of guilty and to enter a plea of not guilty, or setting aside the verdict of guilty, or dismissing the accusation, complaint, information, or indictment. ” (1)
As a physician, it is imperative that you retain the California DUI lawyers at The Kavinoky Law Firm. We are skilled DUI defense attorneys and are knowledgeable and experienced in all facets of your DUI defense including representation before the state Medical Board. If you have been arrested and charged with DUI give us a call immediately.
Source: (1) http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=2239.
Other Sources Source: http://www.mbc.ca.gov/Licensees/Criminal_Conviction.aspx
