Opinion ID: 1520793
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Right to a Hearing

Text: The regulations governing occupational and professional licensing boards specifically deny the right to a hearing, with respect to all applicants for reinstatement following a revocation. 5 DD DCRR § 20.1. Petitioner asserts that she is entitled to a hearing under the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act (DCAPA), as well as the due process clause of the Constitution. We agree. The right to practice one's chosen profession is a liberty interest for purposes of the due process clause; some kind of hearing must be afforded before an individual can be denied the right to practice his or her profession. [3] See Willner v. Committee on Character and Fitness, 373 U.S. 96, 102-03, 83 S.Ct. 1175, 1179-1180, 10 L.Ed.2d 224 (1963); Greene v. McElroy, 360 U.S. 474, 492, 79 S.Ct. 1400, 1411, 3 L.Ed.2d 1377 (1959); Schware v. Board of Bar Examiners, 353 U.S. 232, 238-39, 77 S.Ct. 752, 755-756, 1 L.Ed.2d 796 (1957); Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 399-400, 43 S.Ct. 625, 626-627, 67 L.Ed. 1042 (1923); Dent v. West Virginia, 129 U.S. 114, 121-23, 9 S.Ct. 231, 233, 32 L.Ed. 623 (1889); Shaw v. Hospital Authority, 507 F.2d 625, 628 (5th Cir. 1975); cf. Barry v. Barchi, 443 U.S. 55, 64, 99 S.Ct. 2642, 2649, 61 L.Ed.2d 365 (1979) (property interest in horse trainer's license entitled holder to a prompt postsuspension hearing). Denial of petitioner's application for reinstatement effectively precluded her from practicing her profession in the District of Columbia just as much as did the initial revocation of her license. Thus, the due process clause of the fifth amendment guarantees petitioner a right to a hearing on her application for reinstatement. Petitioner's application also falls within the definition of a contested case under the DCAPA, D.C.Code 1978 Supp., § 1-1502(8), because a hearing is required by the Constitution, and because the Board's action was concerned basically with weighing particular information and arriving at a decision directed at the rights of specific parties. Schneider v. District of Columbia Zoning Commission, D.C.App., 383 A.2d 324, 326 (1978) ( quoting Chevy Chase Citizens Association v. District of Columbia Council, D.C.App., 327 A.2d 310, 313 (1974)). Accordingly, petitioner is entitled to the specific procedural safeguards guaranteed by the DCAPA for contested cases. D.C.Code 1978 Supp., § 1-1509. Since the Board's regulations deprived petitioner of these procedural rights, the summary denial of her application cannot stand.