BW

In this case we are called upon to resolve the narrow question of whether the Board of Medical Quality Assurance (Board) is prohibited by Penal Code section 1000.5 from instituting disciplinary proceedings against a licensee, based solely on information obtained from his record of arrest, after the licensee has successfully completed a pretrial diversion program. (§§ 1000-1000.5.) For reasons to follow, we conclude that section 1000.5 applies to disciplinary proceedings of the Board and, hence, the Board is prohibited from relying solely on the arrest report of a successful divertee to institute disciplinary proceedings against him or her. Accordingly, the judgment will be reversed.

Factual and Procedural Background

On September 29, 1978, appellant and his fiancee were arrested in Long Beach, California. It appears that appellant, who was driving home from a social visit, was stopped by the police for a traffic violation. A small quantity of cocaine was found in appellant’s shirt pocket within the folds of a sheet of paper. At the time the sheet of paper was unfolded by police officers, exposing the cocaine, appellant sneezed and blew away virtually all of the cocaine.…