Roy
Roy v. Superior Court
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Butz, J.
The Medical Board of California (the Board) ordered that petitioner William Joseph Roy, Jr., M.D., be publicly reprimanded, after finding he committed professional misconduct by engaging in sexual relations with a patient.
Roy filed a petition for writ of administrative mandate in the superior court, seeking to overturn the Board’s ruling. The court denied the petition for writ of mandate. Exercising its independent judgment on the evidence, the trial court upheld the Board’s decision, including its finding that Roy violated Business and Professions Code section 726.
Roy filed a petition for writ of mandate in this court, seeking to vacate the trial court’s decision. We granted an order to show cause and issued an alternative writ.
Two issues are presented for review: (1) whether substantial evidence supports the trial court’s finding that Roy willingly allowed a patient to fondle or grope an intimate part of his body for a substantial period of time; *1340 and (2) if so, whether the conduct constituted an act of “sexual relations” within the meaning of section 726. We answer “yes” to both questions and therefore deny the petition.