California Professional License Defense Lawyer

Since 1998 when he moved to Sacramento, California, Attorney Jonathan Turner has represented hundreds of individuals in professional licensing matters.

Mr. Turner has represented virtually every type of professional in California including credentialed teachers, school administrators, counselors and psychologists; registered and vocational nurses; real estate agents, brokers and appraisers; insurance brokers and salespersons; medical doctors and other healthcare professionals; accountants; attorneys; psychologists and psychotherapists; chiropractors; court reporters; daycares and foster parents; and veterinarians and veterinarian assistants.

Mr. Turner has vast experience dealing with California’s many licensing boards and agencies – most of which are located in Sacramento, California. These include the CA Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the CA Board of Registered Nursing, the CA Board of Vocational Nursing, the CA Department of Social Services, the CA Department of Consumer Affairs, the CA Board of Behavioral Sciences, the CA Veterinarian Board, the CA Department of Real Estate, the CA Department of Insurance, the State Bar of CA, the CA Medical Board, the CA Court Reporters Board, the CA Board of Real Estate Appraisers, the CA Board of Psychology, and the CA Contractors Board.

Mr. Turner has dealt with every stage of the administrative law/professional licensing process. Below are some examples:

The Application Process
Professional licenses, whether for a first-time license applicant or a license holder filling out a renewal, require completing a moral character and/or personal background portion which includes questions about prior criminal convictions and/or arrests. This application process also includes Live Scan fingerprinting. If you have a criminal past or previously disciplined professional license, you will likely have to disclose such on your application. It is important that you contact a professional licensing attorney like Jonathan Turner at this early application stage.

Mr. Turner, like he has with dozens of teachers and nurses for example, can assist you in getting your criminal conviction expunged, reduced, set aside and dismissed, and/or sealed and destroyed. He can also help you formulate a written statement explaining the past indiscretion as well as assist you in accumulating moral character letters and court and law enforcement-related documents requested by the board. By getting an administrative law attorney like Jonathan Turner involved early, the licensee or license applicant may avoid a full blown investigation by the licensing board.

Investigations, Document Submissions, and Appearances Before the Board
A criminal conviction or arrest as well as an accusation of professional dishonesty or gross negligence may trigger an investigation by a California licensing agency. Normally, the license holder or applicant receives a letter from the agency informing them of the investigation. The board may invite the individual to either appear before the board and/or one of its committees or investigators for an interview and/or allow the investigated party to present documents on their behalf.

It is critical to obtain legal counsel like Jonathan Turner at this point. Mr. Turner has represented hundreds of individuals in such a predicament. He can work with you to put together the best possible written statement and document submission to the board. He can prepare you for and accompany you to your appearance before the board, its committee and/or its investigator. For instance, he has appeared dozens of times with his clients before the Commission on Teacher Credentialing’s Committee of Credentials in Sacramento. He has also represented health care professionals and veterinarians in interviews with their board’s investigators.

Adminstrative Hearings
Mr. Turner has handled numerous administrative hearings all over California. If a licensing agency determines that denial, suspension, revocation or some other discipline is appropriate following its investigation, then the license holder or applicant has a right to contest the proposed disciplinary action by requesting an administrative hearing.

The administrative hearing process officially begins when an Accusation (for license holders) or Statement of Issues (for license applicants) is received. It goes without saying that having professional licensing legal counsel like Jonathan Turner at this point is vital. On behalf of his clients Mr. Turner will respond to the Accusation or Statement of Issues by executing a Notice of Defense and request for Discovery. Thereafter, the matter is set for an administrative hearing at most likely one of California’s Offices of Administrative Hearings in San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland or Sacramento. Mr. Turner has handled numerous such hearings at all of these locations as well as off-site locations such as Bakersfield and Modesto.

Mr. Turner is well-versed in the special rules and laws associated with administrative hearings i.e. administrative law which is primarily covered in the California Government Code. The administrative hearing lasts anywhere from a half day to over a week depending on the number of witnesses and the complexity of the case. The hearing is held before an administrative law judge (ALJ) and normally a deputy attorney general represents the licensing board. Following the hearing, the ALJ has a specific number of days to issue a written decision. The licensing agency can accept the ALJ’s decision or reject it.

Over the years Mr. Turner has received spectacular results following administrative hearings including helping many license applicants to receive their licenses while helping license holders keep theirs while avoiding career-threatening suspensions.

Appeals: Reconsideration and Writs of Mandate
Following the administrative hearing and the board’s adoption or non-adoption of the judge’s decision, the licensee or license applicant has a few options to contest the board’s actions. One option is to request Reconsideration of the decision. Normally a request for reconsideration will not be granted unless the licensee has some new evidence to present to the board which was not available to present at the already concluded administrative hearing.

A possibly more viable option to contest the licensing agency’s final decision following the administrative hearing is an appeal via an administrative writ of mandamus or writ of mandate (see Code of Civil Procedure section 1094.5). Mr. Turner is the rare attorney that has handled numerous writs of mandate in California. Writs of Mandate are so complex that a limited number of attorneys have experience handling them at all.

Among Mr. Turner’s greatest legal triumphs have been successfully handling such writs. Several times he has handled writs for credentialed teachers and nurses in California. Following the administrative hearing, the judge decided on a form of discipline far less than what the board had hoped. As such, the licensing board rejected the judge’s decision and imposed its own, harsher penalty. The licensees were left with no choice but to appeal the board’s actions with a writ of mandate. The writs, which are normally handled in Sacramento Superior Court before a superior court judge, resulted in favorable rulings for Mr. Turner’s clients and their careers were saved.

If you wish to appeal a licensing agency’s decision, contact Sacramento administrative law lawyer Jonathan Turner right away before the writ deadline passes.