Strode v. Board of Medical Examiners

195 Cal. App. 2d 291, 15 Cal. Rptr. 879, 1961 Cal. App. LEXIS 1452
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 1, 1961
DocketCiv. 24179
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 195 Cal. App. 2d 291 (Strode v. Board of Medical Examiners) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Strode v. Board of Medical Examiners, 195 Cal. App. 2d 291, 15 Cal. Rptr. 879, 1961 Cal. App. LEXIS 1452 (Cal. Ct. App. 1961).

Opinion

*293 LILLIE, J.

Appellant is licensed to practice medicine and surgery in the State of California. By accusation filed by the State Board of Medical Examiners he was charged with three counts of unprofessional conduct relative to the use and dispensation of drugs, and a prior disciplinary action; at the hearing before the hearing officer on February 3, 1958, he appeared in propria persona and stipulated to the truth of “all statements of fact” in the allegation; the hearing was devoted solely to the presentation of evidence in mitigation of the charges. Thereafter, the proposed decision of the hearing officer was submitted to the board. Appellant then secured counsel and requested permission to appear before the board for the limited purpose of introducing additional evidence by way of mitigation. The board denied it but did not adopt the proposed decision and referred the case back to the same hearing officer directing him to hear the additional evidence and to prepare in accord with subdivision (b), section 11517, Government Code, a proposed decision based upon the additional evidence and the record in the prior hearing. At the second hearing before the hearing officer, on April 5, 1958, further evidence in mitigation was introduced and the matter argued on its merits. On May 13, 1958, the hearing officer submitted his proposed decision to the board; therein he determined that appellant’s conduct was contrary to certain sections of the Business and Professions Code and proposed his license be revoked. The proposed decision was adopted by the board on June 30,1958; the board then served upon appellant a copy of its decision to which was attached a copy of the proposed decision. Obtaining new counsel, appellant filed a petition for reconsideration with the board, which it denied; he then filed a petition for writ of mandate. The matter was heard in the trial court March 25, 1959; eight doctors testified for appellant. On May 21, 1959, it filed a memorandum decision ; on June 17, 1959, it denied appellant’s motion to reopen the ease after submission. Judgment was entered August 5, 1959, denying the writ; on August 31, 1959, appellant’s motion to vacate the judgment and enter a different judgment or for new trial was denied. The within appeal is from the judgment and the orders of June 17 and August 31.

By way of stipulation the following facts were admitted by appellant before the hearing officer on February 3, 1958: On April 11, 1953, the board revoked appellant’s certificate to practice, the order was stayed for three years and he was *294 placed on probation; on .August 23, 1954, the probationary terms were modified by removing the restriction on his narcotic privileges; on April 11, 1956, he completed probation. From December 17, 1956, to May 19,1957, appellant dispensed 111 morphine sulphate solution 14 c.e. tablets, 417 dolophine 5 mg. tablets and 530 dolophine 10 mg. tablets without making a record of each transaction showing the name of the patient, date, character, quantity of narcotic involved, pathology and purpose, and personally used said narcotics; between December 17, 1956, and May 19, 1957, appellant was addicted to the use of the narcotics, morphine sulphate and dolophine. Between September 21,1956, and April 15, 1957, appellant issued 38 prescriptions for narcotics (morphine sulphate and dolophine), which narcotics and prescriptions were not for the persons named therein and such persons were not under his treatment; and all or a portion of the narcotics in each instance were actually secured for and used by him for his own use. On May 23, 1957, appellant was convicted upon his plea of guilty of four counts of violation of section 11164 and one count of violation of sections 11225, 11226, Health and Safety Code, in the San Diego Municipal Court.

With reference to the validity of the administrative procedure, appellant argues that when the board does not adopt the hearing officer’s proposed decision, reassigns the ease to a hearing officer for additional testimony and thereafter receives the proposed decision, prior to adopting the same, section 11517, subdivision (c), Government Code, requires (1) the respondent be furnished with a copy of the proposed decision, (2) respondent be afforded the opportunity to present oral or written argument to the board, and (3) the board to familiarize itself with the record.

Initially the board assigned the matter to a hearing officer alone; the board itself neither heard nor decided the case; its ultimate act was the adoption of the proposed decision as its own. Section 11517, Government Code, in pertinent part provides: “ (b) If a contested case is heard by a hearing officer alone, he shall prepare a proposed decision in such form that it may be adopted as the decision in the case. A copy of the proposed decision shall be filed by the agency as a public record and a copy of the proposed decision shall be served by the agency on each party in the case and his attorney. The agency itself may adopt the proposed decision in its entirety, or may reduce the proposed penalty and adopt the balance of *295 the proposed decision, (c) If the proposed decision is not adopted as provided in subdivision (b), the agency itself may decide the case upon the record, including the transcript, with or without taking additional evidence, or may refer the case to the same or another hearing officer to take additional evidence. If the ease is so assigned to a hearing officer he shall prepare a proposed decision as provided in subdivision (b) upon the additional evidence and the transcript and other papers which are part of the record of the prior hearing. A copy of such proposed decision shall be furnished to each party and his attorney as prescribed by subdivision (b). The agency itself shall decide no case provided for in this subdivision without affording the parties the opportunity to present either oral or written argument before the agency itself. If additional oral evidence is introduced before the agency itself no agency member may vote unless he heard the additional oral evidence.”

Subdivision (c) provides for two procedures if the board does not adopt a proposed decision—that wherein the board refers the ease back to the hearing officer for hearing; and the other, wherein the agency itself keeps the case and hears and decides it. The purpose and language of the Administrative Procedure Act (Gov. Code, §§ 11500 et seq.) reflect that these two procedures were intended to be and are separate and distinct. Throughout section 11517, the term “agency itself” is distinguished from the term “hearing officer” to whom the agency has delegated its power to act. There is nothing in the procedure wherein the board refers the case back to the hearing officer under subdivision (c) and (b) that requires a copy of the proposed decision to be served on respondent prior to its adoption by the board; there is nothing therein that permits a respondent to argue orally or in writing before the board; and there is no requirement that the board must familiarize itself with the transcript of the hearing before the hearing officer. To read such requirements into this procedure appellant resorts to that used when, after rejecting a proposed decision, the board itself

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
195 Cal. App. 2d 291, 15 Cal. Rptr. 879, 1961 Cal. App. LEXIS 1452, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/strode-v-board-of-medical-examiners-calctapp-1961.