Opinion ID: 1918218
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Evidentiary and Procedural Standard

Text: ¶ 14. Molden and Avery contend that the evidentiary and procedural standards applied by the Department's regulations violated their due process and equal protection rights guaranteed by the United States and Mississippi Constitutions. Molden and Avery first allege that adversary findings were made against them before they were afforded due process, i.e., (1) notice of the allegations which have been made and (2) an opportunity for a hearing to rebut those allegations. The Department, however, contends that Molden and Avery were afforded due process because they were given notice and a hearing before the adverse findings against them were made final by the hearing officer and their names were placed on the Nurse Aide Abuse Roster. ¶ 15. This Court has held that an administrative [agency] must afford minimum procedural due process under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and under Art. 3, § 14 of the Mississippi Constitution consisting of (1) notice and (2) opportunity to be heard. Booth v. Mississippi Employment Sec. Comm'n, 588 So.2d 422, 428 (Miss.1991) (citing Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Shutts, 472 U.S. 797, 105 S.Ct. 2965, 86 L.Ed.2d 628 (1985); Davis v. Scherer, 468 U.S. 183, 104 S.Ct. 3012, 82 L.Ed.2d 139 (1984); Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972)). With respect to the investigation of allegations of resident neglect and abuse and misappropriation of resident property, federal law, pursuant to its agreement with the States under 42 U.S.C. § 1395aa, provides: The State shall provide, through the agency responsible for surveys and certification of nursing facilities under this subsection, for a process for the receipt and timely review and investigation of allegations of neglect and abuse and misappropriation of resident property by a nurse aide of a resident in a nursing facility or by another individual used by the facility in providing services to such a resident. The State shall, after providing the individual involved with a written notice of the allegations (including a statement of the availability of a hearing for the individual to rebut the allegations) and the opportunity for a hearing on the record, make a written finding as to the accuracy of the allegations. If the State finds that a nurse aide has neglected or abused a resident or misappropriated resident property in a facility, the State shall notify the nurse aide and the registry of such finding. If the State finds that any other individual used by the facility has neglected or abused a resident or misappropriated resident property in a facility, the State shall notify the appropriate licensure authority. A State shall not make a finding that an individual has neglected a resident if the individual demonstrates that such neglect was caused by factors beyond the control of the individual. 42 U.S.C. § 1395i-3(g)(1)(C) (Supp. I 1996). Thus, the Department's regulations provide the following procedure for when information is received or the licensing agency has cause to believe that a nurse aide has abused, neglected or misappropriated the property of a long term care resident: A. Whenever information is received, or when the licensing agency has cause to believe that an aide has abused, neglected, or misappropriated the property of a long term care resident in his or her care, the licensing agency shall investigate same. Documentation of said investigation shall be made including, but not limited to, the nature of the allegation and the evidence that led the licensing agency to conclude that an allegation was valid or not. B. Once a finding [2] is confirmed, the licensing agency shall send a Notice of Right to Hearing to the aide in question both by certified and regular mail, return receipt requested.... This notice will inform him/her of the alleged violation(s) and his/her conduct constituting the violation and confirm the findings by the investigator. It shall inform the aide that he/she has the right to request an administrative hearing via accompanying Request for Hearing Form and that the request for hearing must be in writing and must be received or postmarked within twenty (20) days of the date of notification of the findings and that failure to do so will be interpreted as a waiver of his/her right to such hearing. The notice will advise the aide that notice of the pending allegations will be sent to his/her employer as will the final outcome of same. Furthermore, should any prospective employer, or others, check the aide's status on the roster, they will be advised of any pending allegations and/or final decision. The aide will be advised that whether he/she requests a hearing or not, he/she has the right to submit written statement disputing the allegations if he/ she chooses to do so. The aide will also be advised that should an adverse decision be rendered against the aide by the Hearing Officer that the aide's name shall be placed on the Nurse Aide Abuse Roster (Registry) permanently, that he/she will be unemployable by any long-term care facility as a nurse aide, and that adverse findings against the aide shall be removed only if: (1) the findings were made in error, (2) an individual has been found not guilty in a court of law, or (3) the State is informed of the individual's death. Mississippi State Dept. of Health, Licensure and Certification, Regulations Related to the Removal of Nurse Aides from the Registry, §§ II(A)-(B) (hereinafter Regulations). Molden and Avery contend that the findings made by the investigator constitute adversary findings made against them prior to notice being given and an opportunity to be heard. However, it is clear from the procedural guidelines afforded in the Department's regulations that the licensing agency's decision is to confirm whether the allegations are valid and whether a hearing should be held before a hearing officer. The findings by the licensing agency do not constitute final findings but merely amount to pending allegations awaiting a final determination by the hearing officer before a nurse aide's name can be removed from the Certified Nurse Aide Registry. [F]ederal law dictates: An elementary and fundamental requirement of due process in any proceeding which is to be accorded finality is notice reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise interested parties of the pendency of the action and afford them an opportunity to present their objections. This notice must be of such nature as reasonably to convey the required information and it must afford a reasonable time for those interested to make their appearance. But if with due regard for the practicalities and peculiarities of the case these conditions are reasonably met, the constitutional requirements are satisfied. Booth, 588 So.2d at 427 (quoting Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306, 314, 70 S.Ct. 652, 94 L.Ed. 865 (1950)). In the instant case, Molden and Avery were each given notice of the licensing agency's findings that the allegations were valid and were given the opportunity for an administrative hearing in which they had the right to be represented by counsel, the right to be heard and to present evidence and witnesses, and the right to cross-examine witnesses. Thus, we find that Molden and Avery were afforded notice of the pendency of the action and an opportunity to present their objections, and as a result, their due process rights were not violated. ¶ 16. Molden and Avery also assert that the evidentiary standard applied by the hearing officer violated their due process rights. In the instant case, the Department's regulations provided that the licensing agency's decision had to be supported by substantial evidence, but the hearing officer required the Department to prove the allegations by an overwhelming weight of the evidence. Molden and Avery assert that the appropriate evidentiary standard that should have been applied was to require the licensing agency to prove the allegations by clear and convincing evidence. Molden and Avery contend that regardless of whether the evidentiary standard applied by the hearing officer was the substantial evidence standard or the overwhelming weight of the evidence standard that application of either was reversible error. ¶ 17. The Department, however, contends that application by the hearing officer of an overwhelming weight of the evidence standard rather than clear and convincing evidence is mere semantic in nature. The Department asserts that the overwhelming weight of the evidence standard clearly expressed the heightened evidentiary standard in licensure and related actions and that the standard does not in any way violate the due process rights of Molden and Avery. The Department admits that the hearing officer incorrectly expressed the evidentiary standard the agency had to reach, but the Department contends that it is apparent the hearing officer held the agency to a level appropriate for a quasi-criminal matter since the language used by the hearing officer is the appellate standard used for reviewing criminal convictions. ¶ 18. This Court has held that in administrative proceedings against professionals licensed by the state, the disciplinary board or agency is charged to demand clear and convincing evidence of the offense. Riddle v. Mississippi State Bd. of Pharmacy, 592 So.2d 37, 41 (Miss.1991) (citing Mississippi Real Estate Comm'n v. White, 586 So.2d 805, 808 (Miss.1991); State Bd. of Psychological Exam'rs v. Hosford, 508 So.2d 1049, 1054 (Miss.1987); Hogan v. Mississippi Bd. of Nursing, 457 So.2d 931, 934 (Miss. 1984)). On judicial review, the Chancery Court does not proceed de novo, nor does this Court. Rather, the disciplinary agency's decision is insulated from judicial disturbance where it is supported by substantial evidence and is neither arbitrary nor capricious. Riddle, 592 So.2d at 41 (citations omitted). The Riddle Court expressed the scope of judicial review as follows: The judicial eye looks to see whether a fair-minded fact finder might have found the evidence clear and convincing that the offense had occurred, and, where that may be said, we will not disturb the Board's judgment. Id.; see also Nelson v. Mississippi State Bd. of Veterinary Med., 662 So.2d 1058, 1060-61 (Miss. 1995). ¶ 19. In the case sub judice, Molden and Avery challenged the evidentiary standard before the hearing officer. The hearing officer found no error in the Department's recital of its evidentiary standard, but the hearing officer stated that he held the Department to a higher standard by requiring the Department to prove its case by the overwhelming weight of the evidence, not merely support its allegations by substantial evidence. The chancellor, however, recognized the erroneous legal standard applied by the hearing officer and stated that disciplinary proceedings against a professional, i.e. Nurse Aide, require that proof must be clear and convincing and supported by substantial evidence. The chancellor further found that the statements made by the hearing officer regarding the overwhelming weight of the evidence did not violate the due process rights of Molden and Avery. The chancellor then determined that the Department, irrespective of the hearing officer's statement, proved by clear and convincing evidence that Molden and Avery neglected Gibson. We find that although the hearing officer applied an incorrect evidentiary standard for the revocation of Molden's and Avery's licenses, any such error was cured by the chancellor in his application of the requisite judicial review stated in Riddle and determination that the Department proved neglect by clear and convincing evidence. As a result, we hold that Molden and Avery were afforded the constitutional requisite minimum procedural due process by the Department before final adverse findings were made against them.