New bill by Senator Book seeks to suspend licenses of Physicians arrested for sexual crimes.
Like we didn’t see this one coming…
About a month after her children’s pediatrician was accused of a sexual offense, Lauren Book introduced Senate Bill 1934. That bill would immediately suspend the license of a physician charged with a sexual offense.
Under current circumstances, a physician’s license would not be suspended until they were actually convicted. In the case of her childrens’ pediatrician, he was prohibited from coming into contact with children as a condition of his probation anyhow, but Book wants their licenses suspended immediately.
On the surface, this may not seem like a shocking idea and unless any of our members are physicians accused of a sex crime, we’re not going to focus on this Bill, but for those involved in criminal defense and who are fans of the 5th, 6th and 14th Amendments, the presumption of innocence is totally undermined here. The other things to consider are these types of cases often take years to play out and sometimes people are falsely accused and ultimately found not guilty (not saying that’s the case here, but too often even people on death row are ultimately acquitted).
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Guilty until proven innocent. I think this is already how it is. This bill just makes it more extreme. Those charged with a sex crime are the least likely to be given a bond. Why? Because we are already guilty on the eyes of most judges just by the accusation. The public is no better.
I agree with the sentiment below, that a DWI accusation should cause an automatic suspension of your license. But that law would need to reference this currently propsed law so that when people balk at the DWI suspension they can see that it’s just as ludicrous as this proposed law from Book. (She is so venemous that i don’t even like capitalizing her name, let alone give any credence or respect to her title).
A small correction, Jim. With sex crime accusations, a person is considered guilty until proven guilty. Was that too cynical?
This is pure retaliation because her own pediatrician got charged with a sex offense. The is one very vindictive person.
Book family doesn’t understand due process, unless it applies to them and only them. I am sure that the Legal Committee or Rules Committee will advise her of trying to pass an emotionally but not legally driven bill (again) … or will they?
A random statement here. But im so very gratefull for FAC. My charges were from when I was a teenager. I’m now almost 48. And like many others I have had my share of hardships from the registry. I’m glad that there is a place that I can get current information about new laws.
If you don’t think that in itself is worth a little each month to support fac. Consider this. In 2001 I had a technical failure to register and was arrested and didn’t even know I committed a crime. The Florida law machine won’t bother to tell you when they do pass new laws. Had I know back then what I know now. My petition for removal last year would have been approved by a landslide. But it was denied because I broke a registry rule I didn’t even know existed.
So yea. Its worth whatever you can afford to help out.
My sincerest thank you to FAC.
I agree. I am also dealing with a law i didn’t know existed (not even considering the fact I didn’t actually break it). Apparently, the state passed a law in 2014 that restricts where I can work or volunteer. (How do they restrict my freedoms retroactively? Isn’t this EXACTLY what the federal courts are looking at now when they are saying registration laws are now unconstitutional? I used to be on my church council (after I was forced to start registering) … that is now a felony (restriction of religion freedom?). I used to mow the grass at my church… now a felony. I used to perform in theater… also now a felony. ) They have my butt in there 4 times per year and they don’t even bother to tell me about this new law. I also have a court order against public and community notification. Well, a parent at one of my children’s extra curricular activities was a LEO and did background checks on all the fathers of the kids. This was done of their own accord (at no one’s askance or direction). They then notified all the parents of my situation (violating the court order) and lobbied to have me and my child removed from the team. They were unsuccessful for a little better than a year because most of the parents were friends. All of the sudden, I am arrested for volunteering. I promise you I did NONE of this volunteering since this law was passed and I can prove it (still have a public defender though, so a bit nervous). The point is, the only reason I am not truly guilty is pure luck that I had not volunteered anywhere in the last several years. I had NO idea of this law. I even wrote F.A.C. who responded that they didn’t believe I had committed any crimes even if I did volunteer. This is the result of the registry, vigilantism.
There should be NO EXCUSE for them not to notify us. There should be a burden on them to do so. Mainly because: 1. they change or add these laws so frequently 2. these laws only apply to an extremely small part of the population of the state and 3. they already force us to present ourselves in person multiple times per year and this notice would would realistically incur zero extra burden on the state. The real reason they don’t tell us can be summed up by Admiral Ackbar: “It’s a trap! “
Jim, you wrote: “Well, a parent at one of my children’s extra curricular activities was a LEO and did background checks on all the fathers of the kids.” If the father/cop used NCIC/FCIC (National Crime Information Center/Florida Crime Information Center) to do the background checks on parents in the manner you described, then he probably committed a felony because using those LE resources for personal gain or use is illegal under both federal and Florida laws. Also, you have the right to know what resources he used to do the background check. So go file a complaint at his department and have it investigated and disclosed. Or you can contact FDLE’S Police Standards and Training Commision directly to have the matter investigated.
Bill
Even though I was a cop before there was the internet, I use to see lots of officers do background checks on their daughter’s boyfriends, look for dirt on their buddies exes and many other shady practices. It goes on a lot more than you think.
And now with all the technology we have, yeah, there is a ton of crimes being committed by law enforcement. But in the “Rules only apply to you” culture, what can you do? Yes you can complain, (And I would as well) but expect some blow back from his/her cop buddies.
I know from experience how they stick together and lie. One of the long list of reasons I resigned. It is like a sub culture all of its own.
So just accuse your doctor and they lose their license, great job
Why not a bill to automatically suspend the license of anyone arrested for dui or dwi? I think we all know where I am going with this one?
Yes Tereto! Excellent.
Or be suspended from public office if you are accused.