California Professional License Defense Attorney

give us a call

(916) 471-6506

A common way to challenge the decision of a government entity, such as the CA Department of Consumer Affairs, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Board of Registered Nursing or the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, is by way of an administrative writ of mandamus often referred to as a “writ of mandate” or “judicial review” under CA Government Code section 1094.5.

If the government seeks to discipline or deny you a professional license or some other license such as a day care license or drivers license, the licensee is normally afforded an administrative hearing to contest the license’s denial, suspension or revocation. Administrative hearings are usually held before an administrative law judge (ALJ) at one of California’s Offices of Administrative Hearings. (DMV license suspension hearings are merely presided over by a DMV hearing officer however.)

Following the hearing, the ALJ (or hearing officer) issues a decision commonly referred to as Findings and Order. That decision initially goes to the government agency, such as the Department of Insurance, the Board of Real Estate, the Board of Behavioral Sciences, the Department of Social Services, etc… The government licensing agency then reviews the decision and decides whether to adopt it or reject it or adopt it with amendments. From there, a final decision goes to the license holder or applicant.

If the license holder or applicant disagrees with the final decision concerning their license or license application, they have only 2 options. The first option is to request reconsideration. However, a petition for reconsideration which is made to the licensing board or agency is limited in that it is only viable if the licensee has some new and relevant information to share that was not available at the previous hearing. Otherwise, the only appeal option is a writ of mandate.

Writs of Mandate are extremely complicated and technical legal matters. It is crucial that an attorney with experience in handling writs of mandate be involved. Professional license defense attorney Jonathan Turner is one of the rare attorneys in California with vast experience in handling these writs. Because most California licensing agencies are located in Sacramento, California, these writs usually must be filed in Sacramento Superior Court. If you have received an adverse decision regarding your license or license application following an administrative hearing, contact Writ of Mandate Attorney Jonathan Turner right away. Be aware that there is an extremely limited amount of time to file the writ petition once the final decision is received. When you contact Mr. Turner about a possible writ, he will work with you in evaluating whether going forward with the writ is a good option or not.