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What Are The Consequences Of A DUI Conviction On A Professional License?


If you have a nursing license or medical license, then in the event of a DUI conviction, you can lose your license to practice in your profession. You can lose it for a short term and potentially get it back or you could be put on probation. But for long term consequences, on a first DUI, in most cases, you are not going to lose it for good but it will be a burden in the future, switching jobs, trying to get employment elsewhere because they will look at your record for any other field of work. There are a lot of ramifications if you do get convicted. The best thing that you can do is find the best DUI lawyer that you can get and try and win the case so that you do not need to report a conviction to the nursing board or to the medical board.

Are There Additional Fines Or Sanctions Imposed By Professional Licensing Bodies?

Any fines that exist would be up to the board and I do not know whether or not they typically fine you but there are reinstatement fines involved. There may be monetary costs as well depending on which board or agency you are dealing with. Penalty wise, that is where you are really looking at additional issues and that is where losing your license or being put on a probation, whether it is voluntarily or involuntarily, you could always decide you do not want to be on probation and give up your license but I do not know if many people have done that.

The Steps A Medical Professional Should Take After Being Charged With A DUI

The first steps you should take are to find the best DUI lawyer you can and that does not mean one that is going to give you the best rate. You have to find someone who is very experienced with DUI, find someone who is a member of the National College for DUI Defense and California DUI Lawyers Association and make sure they are a member of both organizations because what that means is that person has probably attended a number of conferences, made enough contacts where they have some good people that they can refer you to, because typically the attorney who represents you on the DUI, his or her main field is going to be the DUI defense, not dealing with the civil administrative licensing boards and hearings in that respect. That is a whole different practice.

It is very hard to find that lawyer typically; someone does one or the other. While you get the best DUI lawyer you can, you also want to find out if that lawyer has some good contacts for someone who can represent you with the board of registered nursing, the medical board, or whatever field it is that you are in that has a license from the state of California. You will know that just by interviewing the DUI lawyer and talking to them about your license about the issues that come up, about advice that they can give you before you even get started and talking to that administrative attorney who is going to help you out with your license.

There are a lot of things that the DUI lawyer needs to know and if they do not know anything about it. You want to be wary of that attorney because the attorney representing you on the DUI needs to know a number of things, starting with the basics and having a pretty good understanding of what results, ramifications from a DUI case that can affect the license. First and foremost in every case, is to see if there is a way to win the case. Asking questions from them if they know if the board will get notified of an arrest and in fact, it is my understanding that the Department of Justice, upon receiving an arrest for someone who, for instance, has a nursing license, will notify the board and you may get a courtesy notice from the board offering some type of a diversion, which you do not want to accept right away.

That is something you really need to consult with the administrative hearing attorney. But simple questions like that, to see if they are familiar with this field are a good idea and you can tell pretty quickly who understands and who does not. The DUI lawyer you talk to does not need to know everything about the administrative area but having an understanding, a working relationship or communications with the administrative hearing or the administrative hearing attorney will help for both cases. That is something to consider, this is a lot different than having a DUI where you are not dealing with a professional license along with your driver’s license. That professional license is your career and it needs to be treated with the utmost care and respect.

For more information on Consequences Of DUI On A Professional License, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (415) 523-7878 today.

Aaron Bortel

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