One of the cases described by Kentucky board counsel Cheryl Lalonde was decided August 25, 2009 by the Court of Appeal of California, Third Appellate District. The ruling (Louis H. Watson v. The Superior Court of Sacramento County, Medical Board of California) involved a surgeon who had several DUI violations…
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A social worker's conviction for grand theft for charging $48,533 to her employer credit card for personal purchases was "substantially related" to the qualifications, functions, or duties of her profession, and sufficient basis for discipline of her license, the Court of Appeal of California, Fifth Appellate District, held September 25…
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flickr | Rose Morelli California’s statutory ban on the practice of sexual orientation conversion therapy by licensed mental health provider has withstood another set of legal arguments made by opponents of the ban, who continue to claim that the ban violates First Amendment religious and free speech rights (Welch v.…
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Ophelia Lee had been licensed as a nurse for seven years when her employer, Eden Medical Center, began to doubt her mental fitness for nursing practice. Lee was examined by five mental health professionals, two of whom concluded she suffered from delusions that impaired her ability to safely function as…
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Alameda County Social Services Agency recommended termination of N.S.’s nonminor dependency status due to her failure to participate in services and her unknown location. At a contested hearing regarding that recommended termination, both N.S. and her therapist testified that they met weekly. When the Agency sought testimony regarding the therapist’s…
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Psychotherapists are mandated by the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA) to report patients who disclose they have developed or accessed child pornography. A group of psychotherapists sued government officials for declaratory and injunctive relief, asserting that AB 1775, which amended the definition of “sexual exploitation” under CANRA to…
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RUVOLO, P.J. I. INTRODUCTION Respondent Michael Edward Rose (Rose) is a licensed clinical social worker who was subjected to professional disciplinary proceedings by appellant Board of Behavioral Sciences (Board)1 after he suffered three drunk driving convictions within 11 years. After the Board issued its ruling, Rose brought a petition for…
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A Board of Psychology did not err in choosing to revoke a psychologist's license once it learned that a conditional indefinite suspension, with jurisdiction to revoke, was not possible, the District Court of Appeal of Florida held June 6 (William Kale, Ph.D. v. Department of Health). The board hoped to…
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The traditional appointed board model for regulating the professions has been a fixture of state government for well over a century. But new models of delivering services, plus a pro-competition climate at the state and federal level, may be threatening the classic regulatory structure. The February 25 U.S. Supreme Court…
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A board's decision not to rescind a settlement agreement with a doctor, which the doctor said was offered to her without proper disclosures, was affirmed by the Court of Appeals of Iowa, in an August 27 ruling (DeLouis v. Iowa Board of Medicine). In 2012, the Iowa Board of Medicine…
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