Ryan J. Welter v. Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine
When a Legislature delegates authority to an
occupational licensing board to prohibit "misleading"
statements and conduct with "the capacity to deceive,"
but no statute or regulation provides any standards
for applying those indeterminate requirements, does
the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
prevent the board from imposing career-ending
sanctions based on its conclusion that a party's
truthful statements have the potential to mislead and
deceive, but with no evidence that the party acted with
improper intent, or that the statements made were
material or caused anyone harm?
When can a licensing board impose career-ending sanctions based on truthful statements with potential to mislead?