What Do I Do If I am a CA Licensed Professional and Am Arrested?
If you are a CA licensed professional and are arrested, you may be obligated to report your arrest to your specific licensing board. Other CA boards and licensing agencies only require the reporting of actual convictions and not mere arrests. Others do not require any such reporting until the individual is up for renewal of their respective license. In short, each board (the CA Medical Board, the CA Department of Consumer Affairs, the CA Board of Registered Nursing, the CA Licensed Vocational Nursing Board, the CA Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the CA Dental Board, the CA Bureau or Department of Real Estate, the CA Department of Insurance, the CA Board of Psychology, the CA Board of Behavioral Sciences, the CA Pharmacy Board, the CA Physical Therapy Board, the CA Board of Occupational Therapy, the CA Board of Veterinarian Medicine, the CA Chiropractic Board, the State Bar of CA, etc…) has its own rules and regulations regarding the reporting of criminal matters.
It is vital that you do report your matter within the time frame and in the manner required of your respective CA licensing board. If you fail to do so, you will only make the situation worse. It is also important to consult with a CA professional license defense attorney like Jonathan Turner if you are arrested for a crime and hold a CA professional license.
Normally, once a CA licensing board or agency is informed of an arrest and/or conviction, they will contact the licensee and request additional information about the criminal incident. This contact often includes a request for either a written explanation of the alleged offense or an interview with the licensee by a board or consumer affairs investigator or enforcement division agent. The Board and its investigator may pressure the licensee to provide such a statement citing the general rule that licensees are to cooperate with any board or consumer affairs investigation. However, licensees like anyone else arrested for a crime or simply being investigated for one, have a right to remain silent pursuant to the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
In short, if you are a CA licensed professional and arrested for a crime, you should immediately consult Sacramento, California professional license defense and administrative law attorney Jonathan Turner. Likewise, if you are contacted by a CA licensing board, the CA Department of Consumer Affairs and/or one of their investigators or enforcement agents, you should contact CA administrative hearing attorney Jonathan Turner.
LEGAL TROUBLE WITH YOUR PROFESSIONAL LICENSING BOARD?
If you received a denial of a professional license or any threat to your ability to continue practicing your profession, please contact attorney Jonathan Turner using this contact form or call (916) 471-6506 for a personal conversation.