Douglass

Defendant Board of Medical Quality Assurance (BMQA) appeals from the judgment in favor of plaintiff James Dewitt Douglass, a licensed medical doctor. In challenging the judgment arising from two distinct courses of conduct by Douglass reflected in BMQA’s accusation filed in April 1978 and a supplemental accusation filed in January 1979, BMQA asks us to define the parameters of official conduct with respect to an entrapment defense and to decide the admissibility of hearsay evidence which forms the basis for an expert’s opinion the physician acted unprofessionally. We conclude there is insufficient evidence to support the trial court finding of entrapment pertaining to the charges of the April 1978 accusation and therefore reverse the judgment on that accusation. We also decide the court prejudicially erred in ruling certain documentary evidence was hearsay and consequently reverse and remand to allow the court to reweigh the evidence.

Factual and Procedural Background

BMQA first accused Douglass of unprofessional conduct (former Bus. & Prof. Code, § 2361, subd. (a), current § 2234, subd. (a)) in April 1978 alleging he failed to conduct good faith prior examinations…