Case Details

Issues

Conflicts, Control Of Litigation, Status In State Government

Filing State

IA

Court

Iowa Supreme Court

Year

1994

Citation

Fisher v. Iowa Board of Optometry Examiners, 510 N.W.2d 873, 877 (Iowa 1994).

Resolution

Attorney general’s dual role of appearing before a state board and advising the board did not present a problem of procedural due process.

Case Description

the court held that the fact that an assistant attorney general advised a medical board or rulemaking and complaint issuance and also sought a rehearing in a disciplinary hearing did not give rise to a due process violation. The court said, “We fail to see how the assistant attorney general caused the board to become a prosecutor. The assistant attorney general did at times advise the board in its rulemaking and complaint-filing capacity. But this fact did not, standing alone, impute the prosecutorial role to the board. The board did not prosecute the case; the attorney general did. It is neither unlawful nor uncommon for the attorney general to both give advice to various administrative agencies, and thereafter prosecute actions brought by the agency”