Nurses in the state of Washington are expected to follow a number of different requirements in order to maintain their professional licenses. Continuing education is one, for example, and meeting the Board of Nursing’s practice standards is another. But when it comes to disclosing things that happen outside of your “nursing life” to the BON, you may have questions. For example, what, if anything, you’re required to do if you’ve been accused of domestic violence or if a protection order has been issued against you?
The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team can help you understand your reporting obligations in these kinds of situations and can help you make sure you report what’s necessary to the BON when it’s necessary to do so. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a consultation to learn how we can help.
Domestic Violence in Washington
The state of Washington does not have a separate crime called “domestic violence.” It does categorize certain types of crimes as domestic violence crimes if the victim and the defendant have a certain kind of relationship. When that is the case, the crime can be categorized (and charged) as a domestic violence crime. This has a number of consequences: it affects how police respond to and investigate the crime; it gives the courts powers to provide certain remedies to the alleged victim even before the guilt or innocence of the defendant has been decided; and it can affect the procedures the defendant must follow when responding to the allegations and appearing in court, as well as regulating how the defendant is able to interact with the alleged victim during the criminal case.
The crimes that can be treated as “domestic violence” crimes include:
- Assaults at various levels (first through fourth degree)
- Reckless endangerment
- Burglary (first and second degree)
- Criminal trespass (first and second degree)
- Malicious mischief (first and second-degree)
- Kidnapping (first and second degree) and Unlawful imprisonment
- Rape (first and second degree)
- Stalking
- Interfering with someone reporting domestic violence
- Violation of a restraining, no-contact, or protection order
To qualify as a “domestic violence” crime, the crime must be committed either by “one family or household member against another family or household member” or by “one intimate partner against another intimate partner.”
A “family or household member” means:
- Adults related by blood or marriage
- Adults who live together or who did so in the past
- Persons who have a “biological or legal parent-child relationship” – this includes stepparents and stepchildren, as well as grandparents and grandchildren
- Spouses or former spouses
- Domestic partners or former domestic partners
- Persons who have a child in common
- People who live or lived together who have or had a dating relationship (with “dating relationship” meaning a “social relationship of a romantic nature”)
If you are facing allegations that you have committed a domestic violence crime in Washington, you do not have an immediate obligation to report those allegations to the Board of Nursing. While you are required to report criminal convictions to the BON (and courts in Washington will report criminal convictions even if you don’t), in most cases, you will not have to report allegations unless they result in a conviction, guilty plea, or no contest (nolo contendere) plea.
It may not always be clear when your reporting obligation applies. That’s where the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team can help. Our experienced attorneys can review your case with you to determine whether you must report it to the BON. If you do, we can draft and submit the report and include as much helpful information as possible to help protect your license and your ability to practice as a nurse.
Protection Orders in Washington
There are two main ways that a protection order can be entered by a court in a domestic violence situation. One is if the person is accused of committing a domestic violence crime. The other is if a protective order is requested by someone who claims they are the victim of domestic violence.
The first type of order doesn’t require a petition. Under Washington law, if a defendant is accused of committing a domestic violence crime, the court has the power to issue what is called a “no contact order” against the defendant.
A no-contact order issued after criminal domestic violence charges have been filed against a defendant can prohibit the defendant from:
- Contacting or attempting to contact the alleged victim, their family, or their household members
- Continuing to live at a “residence shared with the victim.”
- Showing up at a designated “workplace, school, or child care.”
- Being within a specific distance from a particular location or vehicle (such as the alleged victim’s home or their car)
The no-contact order can also require the defendant to turn over any weapons and submit them to electronic monitoring.
No-contact orders are issued by the judge in a criminal case while the case is still ongoing and before there is any determination made that a defendant is guilty (or not) of the charges.
The second type of protection order is based on a petition filed by the alleged victim. It can be issued if the petitioner claims to be a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or harassment and if they file a petition asking the court to issue a protection order. This type of order will direct the person named in the order to stop the alleged misconduct. In this type of case, the person asking for the order is the “petitioner,” and the person who is the target of the requested order is the “respondent.”
Protection order cases are not criminal. They are civil cases. A court can grant a petition for a protection order “if it finds by a preponderance of the evidence” that the petitioner has proved their case. This is a much lower standard of proof than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard used in criminal cases. (Indeed, many of the rules of evidence that apply in most criminal and civil cases do not apply during court hearings on protection order petitions.) This all makes it much easier for courts to find grounds for a protection order based on allegations of domestic violence than it does for courts to find a person guilty of a domestic violence crime.
Protection orders can impose similar obligations on the respondent (the person targeted by the order) as a no-contact order can on a defendant in a criminal domestic violence case. The protection order can prohibit contact, force the respondent to move out of the family home, require them to stay away from the home, workplace, or school of the petitioner as well as from the daycare or school of any minor child, and to stay a specified distance (at least 1000 feet) away from specified people and locations.
In addition, protection orders can also require the respondent to get counseling and submit to a mental health or chemical dependency evaluation. They can require the respondent to allow the petitioner to use a family vehicle. The court, in general, has the freedom to order other types of relief that it “deems necessary for the protection of the petitioner and other family or household members who are minors or vulnerable adults” if the petitioner has requested protection for them as well.
Because protection orders are not criminal proceedings, if you are a registered nurse and a protection order is issued against you, you should not have to report this to the Washington State Board of Nursing. That said, you should have a clear understanding of what the protection order prohibits you from doing and what you’re allowed to do under the order. This is because violating a protection order is a crime. Even if you haven’t committed any of the actions a petitioner in a protection order case claims you committed, if you violate the protection order, then you can be charged with a crime.
Abuse Allegations, Protection Orders, and Your Nursing License
While the Washington State Board of Nursing does not require nurses to report allegations of domestic violence – whether the allegations are made in a criminal case brought against the nurse or in a petition for a protection order where the nurse is a respondent – it is still possible that a nurse who has been accused of domestic violence can still face BON disciplinary proceedings.
First, someone could file a complaint against the nurse based on the allegations. This could be the person who is allegedly the victim of the nurse’s domestic violence, or it could be a friend or family member of the alleged victim, or it could be a member of the public who learns of the allegations against the nurse and decides to file a BON complaint.
While not all complaints filed with the BON will result in disciplinary proceedings, the BON will review whether the complaint alleges conduct that would be a violation of nursing rules or would otherwise be considered unprofessional conduct. While conviction of a crime will be treated by the BON as “conclusive evidence” that the nurse is guilty, the BON does not necessarily require a conviction before disciplining a nurse – if the nurse’s alleged actions involve “moral turpitude, dishonesty, or corruption relating to” their nursing practice.
Whether allegations of domestic violence meet this test will often depend on what those allegations are and whether they arguably relate to the nurse’s work as a nurse.
Second, if criminal charges result in a conviction, a guilty plea, or a nolo contendere (“no contest”) plea, the BON can discipline the nurse. Any “gross misdemeanor or felony” that relates to the practice of the nurse’s profession can result in disciplinary penalties.
Penalties for convictions can vary depending on the circumstances of the case. For cases that do not involve a sexual offense, a conviction of a gross misdemeanor can lead to anything from a reprimand to up to 5 years of oversight that may include “reprimand, training, monitoring, supervision, evaluation, probation, suspension, etc.” More serious convictions can result in more serious discipline, with felony convictions possibly leading to permanent revocation of the nurse’s license.
This makes it important to understand the consequences of any criminal conviction to your nursing license if you have been accused of criminal domestic violence in Washington. Before you agree to plead guilty or no contest, and before you go to trial, contact the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team to discuss your case. You need to consider all factors when considering your defense strategy, and one important factor is what effect your defense might have on your nursing license.
Nursing Discipline in Washington
Once a complaint has been filed – whether by a member of the public or by the BON after it’s been notified of a conviction – the BON will usually conduct an investigation. This will likely include an interview with you about the allegations you’re facing. You can have an attorney present for that, and it can be enormously helpful to know in advance what kinds of questions you can expect and how to make sure you are answering them clearly and correctly. Your attorney can also be there with you when you’re interviewed to help clarify any misleading or unclear questions and to generally protect your rights.
After the investigation stage is over, the BON will decide whether to bring formal charges. If it does not, anyone who filed a complaint against you will be notified, and they will have a chance to comment on that decision. If it does go forward, the BON will list the allegations against you and, typically, propose some form of discipline. Most disciplinary cases end with a stipulation to informal discipline. Those that don’t move to formal proceedings, which include formal charges against the nurse. These may also result in settlements; cases that don’t settle will proceed to a formal hearing.
No matter what the stage of your disciplinary case is, it can be an enormous help to work with an experienced attorney from the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team. We will protect your rights from day one, evaluate your case and help you understand what’s happening, negotiate with the BON to resolve matters in a way that protects your license, and, where your case can’t be settled, defend you vigorously against the charges.
The LLF National Law Firm Can Help Protect Your Washington Nursing License
As a nurse working in the state of Washington, your license is likely the most important credential you hold. It’s the key to your future and your livelihood. If you are facing domestic violence allegations – whether they are criminal allegations or are part of a petition for a protection order – you need to be concerned about the effect those allegations may have on your license.
The LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team can help you when you find your license and your livelihood threatened by these kinds of allegations. Our experienced attorneys regularly defend nurses all over the country – including nurses in Washington – who have been accused of all forms of misconduct. We understand the law, the rules, and the regulations that apply in BON misconduct proceedings, and we will fight to protect your rights and defend you at every stage.
If you have questions about what you’re supposed to do in terms of your obligations as a licensed nurse in the state of Washington facing domestic violence charges or allegations, we can help. Call the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form, and we’ll schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your case.