Opinion ID: 186461
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: DEA's Decision

Text: 48 On September 28, 2001, the Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Diversion Control, DEA, issued an Order to Show Cause to Dr. Morall, proposing to revoke her DEA certificate of registration and deny any pending applications for renewal on the ground that such registration would be inconsistent with the public interest pursuant to 21 U.S.C. §§ 823(f), 824(a)(4). Dr. Morall requested a hearing, which took place before the ALJ in June 2002. At the hearing, Dr. Morall and Dr. Teich testified on Dr. Morall's behalf; Dr. Greenfield's testimony was also submitted by way of affidavit. Investigator Barnhill was DEA's sole witness. 49 On April 28, 2003, the ALJ issued proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. She considered each of the factors provided at 21 U.S.C. § 823(f). The ALJ found that factor one—recommendation of state licensing board—weighed in Dr. Morall's favor, because the Colorado Board of Medical Examiners reviewed the DEA report of the investigation but decided to take no disciplinary action against Dr. Morall. Similarly, factor three—convictions related to controlled substances—weighed in Dr. Morall's favor as the record did not indicate that Dr. Morall had ever been convicted of a state or federal violation pertaining to controlled substances. 50 Under factor two—experience in handling controlled substances—the ALJ considered DEA's arguments that Dr. Morall neglected an obligation to report the theft of controlled substances from the Holland clinic; that she failed to report the return of controlled substances to the supplier; that she dispensed controlled substances from her home prior to being registered there; that she did not properly store controlled substances at either her Steele Street or home location; and that she failed to take an initial inventory and maintain appropriate records. 51 The ALJ specifically credited Dr. Morall's testimony that she was not responsible for ordering controlled substances when she worked at the Holland clinic; that she reported the theft to the police, the Medical Board, and DEA; that she had not ordered the drugs that were returned under her DEA registration number and did not know that they were returned under her number; that she did not have the opportunity to secure the drugs she intended to dispense on the day that she was evicted from her Steele Street office; and that she had told Ms. Garcia that she was taking care of patients from her home, but did not say she saw them there. The ALJ therefore concluded that DEA did not establish by a preponderance of the evidence that Dr. Morall failed to secure controlled substances at the Steele Street location, failed to report a theft, dispensed controlled substances from her home without being registered there, or failed to keep records of a return. 52 Because it was undisputed, however, that Dr. Morall did not take inventories, maintain proper records, or properly store drugs at her home, the ALJ determined that factor two weighed against Dr. Morall. For the same reason, the ALJ concluded that factor four also weighed against Dr. Morall. 53 Under factor five, the ALJ found that Dr. Morall had not engaged in any other conduct that could threaten the public health or safety. 54 The ALJ concluded that, although Dr. Morall's record-keeping violations were egregious, they occurred over a fairly short period of time and the record does not establish that [Dr. Morall] diverted any controlled substances. In addition, [Dr. Morall] appeared to regret her past conduct and I find that she is unlikely to repeat it. ALJ Decision at 20. Thus, the ALJ recommended that Dr. Morall's registration not be revoked, because a preponderance of the evidence does not establish that it would be inconsistent with the public interest to continue [Dr. Morall's] DEA registration. Id. 55 Although counsel for DEA was granted an extension of time to file exceptions to the ALJ's decision, no exceptions were filed. The ALJ transmitted the record of proceedings to the Deputy Administrator on July 14, 2003. 56 Over a year later, on September 16, 2004, counsel for Dr. Morall sent a letter complaint to the Office of the Inspector General, stating that while the ALJ's decision was very favorable to [Dr. Morall], the DEA's delay in confirming that decision has imposed de facto punishment upon her, because no new registration could issue. Letter from Robert N. Spencer to Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Complaints, Office of the Inspector General of 9/16/04 at 1, reprinted in App. tab D. Counsel for Dr. Morall explained that [n]eedless to say, this is creating havoc for my client with her employer and her health care insurance panels, which require proof of current DEA registration. At this point, I can only believe the DEA's inexcusable delay in acting upon Dr. Morall's case is intentional.... Id. 57 Less than two weeks after the letter was sent to her, the Deputy Administrator served Dr. Morall with a final order revoking Dr. Morall's certificate of registration. The Deputy Administrator declined to adopt the ALJ's opinion and recommended rulings, findings of fact, conclusions of law, and decision. 58 After findings of fact that largely traced Investigator Barnhill's testimony and entirely ignored Dr. Morall's on numerous disputed facts, the Deputy Administrator determined that only factors two, four, and five were pertinent to the legal question whether Dr. Morall's registration was inconsistent with the public interest. With regard to factors two and four, the Deputy Administrator found that Dr. Morall had committed serious record-keeping violations. The Deputy Administrator concluded, however, that Dr. Morall's record-keeping failures might be partly excused by the extremely stressful circumstances in her life during this time period. Thus, the balance of her decision focused on factor five. 59 Under factor five, the Deputy Administrator was particularly disturbed ... by the numerous occasions that [Dr. Morall] provided false information to DEA investigators and repeatedly frustrated their attempts to conduct their investigation. 69 Fed.Reg. at 59,960. Although Dr. Morall had testified that she never meant to mislead the investigators and denied making false statements, the Deputy Administrator found that Dr. Morall has no credibility, because it is absolutely clear that she lied to the investigators on numerous occasions. Id. 60 Specifically, the Deputy Administrator concluded that 61 [Dr. Morall] lied about possessing controlled substances at her house. She lied about having a safe in her house in which to store controlled substances. She lied about treating patients from her home. She lied about the true identity of a friend for whom she had written prescriptions for controlled substances. She misled the investigators about the existence of patient records. She continually maintained that she had controlled substance records at her office, when in truth she did not. She later admitted that she had tried to create the records from memory.... 62 Moreover, [Dr. Morall] agreed to assist DEA investigators in their inspection of the Steele Street location, without telling them that she had been evicted from that location.... [She] also made false statements regarding the transfer of drugs. 63 Id. 64 The Deputy Administrator also pointed to Dr. Morall's inability to account for many of the controlled substances under her care, and stressed that while Dr. Morall asserted that the controlled substances were legitimately dispensed to patients, she had no records to support her assertion. Id. The Deputy Administrator stated that, although she did not necessarily find that [the] controlled substances were diverted, id., circumstantial evidence suggested that Dr. Morall or someone close to her might be abusing controlled substances in Dr. Morall's possession. 65 The Deputy Administrator ordered Dr. Morall's DEA registration revoked, explaining that [i]f [Dr. Morall's] only failures involved record-keeping, the Deputy Administrator might find it appropriate to impose a lesser sanction than revocation of [her] DEA registration. [Dr. Morall's] false and misleading statements, however, cannot be excused. Id.