May 2014 - Administrative Law Report

Open criminal charges do not justify continued civil commitment.

The speculative consequences of open criminal charges from approximately seventeen years prior cannot legally justify Respondent’s continued civil commitment. The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) was ordered to show compliance with a previous order of Judge Lois Oakley and produce evidence of efforts to transition Respondent to an appropriate community placement with […]

Open criminal charges do not justify continued civil commitment. Read More

Plaintiff’s IDEA complaint deemed insufficient.

Special Education

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) requires that a due process complaint contain a description of the problem relating to a proposed initiation or change in the child\’s education, facts relating to the problems, and proposed resolutions. Plaintiff’s complaint was insufficient because the cited problems lacked detail and the proposed resolutions were vague.

Plaintiff’s IDEA complaint deemed insufficient. Read More

Georgia law favors public trials that are open to the press and public.

Professional Licensing

Considering the seriousness of the allegations against a doctor in a medical licensure disciplinary hearing, there is a particularly strong need for an open courtroom. Allowing electronic media coverage of portions of the hearing would “increase public access to the courts and openness of judicial proceedings” without impacting the integrity, dignity, or administration of the

Georgia law favors public trials that are open to the press and public. Read More

Bound by current license until application for an increase is granted.

Health Law

The Department of Community Health properly fined a personal care home $25,000 for repeat violations of capacity and level-of-care license and rule violations. The fact that the personal care home had a pending application for an increase in capacity did not justify admitting more residents than allowed under its current license. In fact, the failure

Bound by current license until application for an increase is granted. Read More

Due process complaint dismissed without prejudice for lack of service.

Special Education

Plaintiff, a parent filing a due process request under the Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA), did not comply with the Department of Education’s rule, which provides that the initiating party must provide a copy of the complaint to the school district’s superintendent at the same time as serving the state. Plaintiff was given ten

Due process complaint dismissed without prejudice for lack of service. Read More

Delay in reading of implied consent notice justified by circumstances.

DUI

A forty-five minute delay in reading the implied consent notice to Petitioner did not invalidate the subsequent chemical test, because the delay was due to an apparent medical emergency and, thereafter, Petitioner’s disruptive behavior.

Delay in reading of implied consent notice justified by circumstances. Read More