THEODORE A. HOOD, APPELLANT,
v.
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, APPELLEE
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Theodore Hood appealed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's revocation of his law enforcement certification. The appellate court affirmed the factual findings supporting misconduct but reversed the revocation penalty, finding that an administrative agency cannot reject a hearing officer's recommended penalty without first rejecting or amending the underlying facts or legal conclusions.
An administrative agency may not reject or increase the penalty recommended by a hearing officer without properly rejecting, amending, or substituting at least one of the hearing officer's findings of fact or conclusions of law. The Commission's revocation was reversed and the matter remanded for the Commission to approve the hearing officer's recommended suspension and probation.
[1] An administrative agency may not reject a hearing officer's recommended penalty without rejecting, amending, or substituting at least one of the hearing officer's finding…
[2] An administrative agency's order adopting a hearing officer's findings of fact and conclusions of law but imposing a different penalty than recommended is reversible erro…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“An administrative agency may not reject the penalty recommended by the hearing officer without properly rejecting, amending, or substituting for, at least one of the hearing officer's findings of fact or conclusions of law.”
States the controlling legal principle that an agency cannot change the penalty without changing the underlying factual or legal basis
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe Criminal Justice Standards Training Commission filed an administrative complaint against Hood alleging misconduct. Following an evidentiary hearin…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant appeals a final order of an administrative agency (Appellee, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Criminal Justice Standards Training Commission), revoking the appellant’s certification as a law enforcement officer. Appellee Commission filed an administrative complaint against appellant alleging certain misconduct and seeking revocation of his certificate.
After an evidentiary hearing, the administrative hearing officer made certain findings of fact, reached certain conclusions of law, and recommended that appellant’s certificate be suspended for a period of six months followed by probation for a period of one year, subject to the successful completion of such career development training and counselling as appellee Commission might impose.
The appealed order of the Commission adopted and incorporated all of the hearing officer’s findings of fact and conclusions of law without change, but rejected the disposition recommended by the hearing officer and revoked the appellant’s certificate.
We affirm the hearing officer’s findings of fact and conclusions of law adopted by the Commission, but reverse the penalty imposed by the Commission.
An administrative agency may not reject the penalty recommended by the hearing officer without properly rejecting, amending, or substituting for, at least one of the hearing officer’s findings of fact or conclusions of law. Bradley v. Criminal Justice Standards & Training Commission, 577 So. 2d 638 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991); Bajrangi v. Department of Business Regulation, 561 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990); Hambley v. Department of Professional Regulation, 568 So. 2d 970 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990).
The Commission’s order revoking appellant’s certification is reversed and the cause remanded with instructions to approve the hearing officer’s recommended disposition.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
W. SHARP, COWART and HARRIS, JJ., concur.
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Citator
Authorities Cited
- Rajendr Bajrangi v. Dep't of Bus. Reg., 561 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990)
- Hambley v. Dep't of Prof'l Reg., 568 So. 2d 970 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)
- Bradley v. Crim. Just. Standards & Training Comm'n, 577 So. 2d 638 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)