Brandt

Plaintiff John Brandt appeals from a judgment denying his petition for a peremptory writ of mandate to compel defendant David Fox, Commissioner of the Department of Real Estate (hereafter Commissioner) to set aside his decision denying plaintiff a license to act as a real estate salesman. The principal question raised by this appeal is whether denial of plaintiff’s application for such a license can be based solely upon his having suffered a conviction in 1974 for distribution of a controlled substance.

Plaintiff filed an application for a real estate salesman’s license on October 29, 1976. On January 27, 1977, the Commissioner instituted proceedings for the purpose of inquiring into plaintiff’s qualifications for such a license and, in particular, whether plaintiff should be denied a license due to his having sustained a 1974 conviction for distribution of cocaine.

A hearing was held before George Coan, an administrative law judge, who rendered a proposed decision finding that in October 1974, plaintiff had been convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude. He found that the circumstances leading to such conviction were that, while working as a bartender, plaintiff…