The chief medical officer of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Regulation and Licensure entered an order revoking Poor’s license to practice as a chiropractor in the state of Nebraska. 4 Poor engaged in a conspiracy to manufacture and distribute a mis-branded substance, and he introduced into interstate commerce misbranded and adulterated drugs with the intent to defraud and mislead. He was arrested for driving under the influence and was convicted of that offense. In addition, Poor knowingly possessed cocaine. He conceded that these factual determinations were understood as beyond dispute. The district court’s determination that Poor had engaged in “grossly immoral or dishonorable conduct” was not based on “trivial reasons.” The appeals court found that Poor’s conduct clearly fell within the plain and ordinary meaning of grossly immoral or dishonorable conduct. In its order finding Poor to be unfit, the district court relied in part on Poor’s denial of conduct underlying a previous felony conviction. The court stated, “Poor’s denial now, after taking advantage of a plea bargain, that he committed any of the acts he admitted to in the United State[s] District Court is disturbing and is not consistent with the integrity and acceptance of responsibility expected by persons engaged in a professional occupation.” Chiropractic medicine is a regulated health care profession. Patients necessarily rely on a chiropractor’s honesty, integrity, sound professional judgment, and compliance with applicable governmental regulations. Poor argued that there was absolutely no testimony or evidence to the effect that anything he did constituted a threat of harm to his patients. The Supreme Court of Nebraska determined that due to the seriousness of Poor’s felony conviction and its underlying conduct, his subsequent lack of candor with respect to that conduct, as well as his lack of sound judgment demonstrated by his driving-under-the-influence conviction, revocation of Poor’s license was an appropriate sanction.

  Ethical and Legal Issues

1. Did the chiropractor in this case violate his professional code of ethics? Explain your answer.

2. Describe how an individual’s personal life can impact one’s professional career