Opinion ID: 2036009
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Good Moral Character

Text: The appellate court, addressing what it considered to be a misconception of law on the part of at least one Board member and the Board attorney, interpreted the statutory requirement of good moral character in an Illinois medical license application. (Ill.Rev.Stat.1987, ch. 111, par. 4400-9(B)(1).) Abrahamson argued before the Board and the trial court, as well as in his brief before this court, that once an Illinois medical license applicant acquires the prescribed education and training, and passes the required examinations, then that is sufficient for the granting of the license. The appellate court, noting the statutory requirement of good moral character, found as follows: An applicant for a medical license who has graduated from an accredited medical school and has passed all preliminary tests imposed by the statute should be entitled to a medical license unless it may be shown that he is lacking in `good moral character.'    We judge that the burden of proof should be on the Department to show that plaintiff [Abrahamson] is lacking `good moral character.' 210 Ill.App.3d at 369, 293 N.E.2d 655. Section 9 of the Medical Practice Act of 1987 prescribes what a person must do to apply for an Illinois medical license. The applicant must: use the Department's application forms; designate his or her professional school and the type of medicine he or she intends to practice; pay the required fees to the Department; and pass the requisite examinations. Ill.Rev.Stat. 1987, ch. 111, pars. 4400-9(A), (C), (D), (E). Additionally, the legislature included subsection (B) with section 9. Section 9(B) states in pertinent part that each applicant for a medical license shall: (B) Submit evidence satisfactory to the Department that the applicant: (1) Is of good moral character. In determining moral character under this section, the Department may take into consideration whether the applicant has engaged in conduct or activities which would constitute grounds for discipline under this Act.    (2) Has the preliminary and professional education required by this Act; (3) Is a citizen of the United States or a lawfully admitted alien; (4) Is physically, mentally and professionally capable of practicing medicine with reasonable judgment, skill and safety. Ill.Rev.Stat.1987, ch. 111, par. 4400-9(B). Abrahamson and the appellate court acknowledge that subsections (A), (C), (D), and (E) are requirements for an Illinois medical license and that the applicant bears the burden of satisfying those requirements. Indeed, Abrahamson and the appellate court acknowledge that subsections (B)(2), (B)(3), and (B)(4) are also license requirements that the applicant must satisfy. However, in the midst of all of these license requirements that the applicant must satisfy, the appellate court held that an applicant should be entitled to a medical license unless the Department shows that he or she lacks the requirement of subsection (B)(1), i.e., good moral character. 210 Ill.App.3d at 369, 293 N.E.2d 655. The appellate court's interpretation of section 9 of the Act ignored the plain language of section 9(B)(1). The primary rule of statutory interpretation is that a court should ascertain and give effect to the intention of the legislature. The legislative intent should be sought primarily from the language used in the statute. ( Certain Taxpayers v. Sheahen (1970), 45 Ill.2d 75, 84, 256 N.E.2d 758.) The statute should be evaluated as a whole; each provision should be construed in connection with every other section. ( Miller v. Department of Registration & Education (1979), 75 Ill.2d 76, 81, 25 Ill.Dec. 644, 387 N.E.2d 300.) Where the language of the act is certain and unambiguous the only legitimate function of the courts is to enforce the law as enacted by the legislature. Sheahen, 45 Ill.2d at 84, 256 N.E.2d 758. Applying these principles to the present case, we conclude that the appellate court's interpretation of section 9 of the Act cannot stand. The legislature clearly has the duty to require that medical license applicants possess good moral character. Further, by section 9(B)(1) of the Act, the legislature requires a medical license applicant to satisfy the Department that he or she has good moral character. (Ill.Rev.Stat.1987, ch. 111, par. 4400-9(B)(1).) The legislature could not have made its intent any plainer. When permissible under the Constitution, statutes should be interpreted and applied in the manner in which they are written. They should not be re-written by a court to make them consistent with the court's idea of orderliness and public policy. ( Kozak v. Retirement Board of the Firemen's Annuity & Benefit Fund (1983), 95 Ill.2d 211, 220, 69 Ill.Dec. 177, 447 N.E.2d 394.) We hold that the requirement of good moral character prescribed by section 9(B)(1) of the Act is as much of a requirement for an Illinois medical license as the other requirements prescribed by that section. Further, the applicant bears the burden of establishing his or her good moral character with the other statutory requirements, from the time of his or her application to the granting of the license. See 70 C.J.S. Physicians & Surgeons § 19(a), at 400 (1987).