When we wrote on March 7 that the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry (LSBD) functions simultaneously as adjudicator, prosecutor, judge and jury in disciplinary hearings against dental professionals, we were not embellishing or fudging the facts. Quite the contrary; we were being quite literal.
Take the behavior of LSBD legal counsel Brian Begue, for example, in the 2010 hearing on charges brought against former Shreveport dentist C. Ryan Haygood, a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Louisiana Tech University with a degree in molecular biology and the LSU School of Dentistry.
Since 1995, Begue, rather than serve as a staff attorney at a set salary, has received eight separate contracts from the board totaling an eye-popping $2.825 million, including $450,000 for each of the last five three-year contracts.
(And State Sen. Robert Adley, Gov. Bobby Jindal and others are carping about the attorney general hiring a private law firm to pursue that lawsuit against 97 oil and gas companies by the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East? But that’s another story.)
Begue’s role in his capacity as board legal counsel, according to a Sept. 26, 2012, ruling by the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal in New Orleans, is restricted to that of an advisor “who is independent of complaint counsel and who has not participated in the investigation or prosecution of the case.” (Emphasis added.)
The appeal court, in its ruling, noted that Begue “participated in the hearing before the board’s panel both as prosecutor and adjudicator” during Haygood’s hearing before the board. An adjudicator is one who presides, judges and arbitrates during a formal dispute and as such, may rule on evidentiary objections and other procedural questions if so delegated to do so by the board chairman.
Moreover, the court said, the LSBD “condoned Mr. Begue’s behavior and failed to acknowledge Dr. Haygood’s objection that Mr. Begue was overstepping his role in the proceedings.”
The appeal court went even further to say that the board’s hearing record was “replete with instances in which Mr. Begue acted as prosecutor throughout the proceedings, and at times simultaneously acted as prosecutor, panel member and independent counsel,” and noted that in a separate 1997 case, the Louisiana Supreme Court said that the “commingling of prosecutorial and adjudicative functions violates both the letter of the Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act and the due process goals it is designed to further.” The idea of the same person serving as judge and prosecutor “is anathema under our notions of due process. Such a scenario is devoid of the appearance of fairness,” The appeal court said.
To fully appreciate the extent of Begue’s—and by its complicity, the board’s—willingness to disregard any semblance of fairness or due process, consider this gem: the court observed that Begue’s brazen behavior went so far as “even ruling on his own objection.” (emphasis added.)
The absurdity of such actions brings to mind the episode of the old Danny Thomas CBS series Make Room for Daddy in which he launched The Andy Griffith Show. In that episode, Thomas, in the role of Danny Williams, is pulled over for speeding by Griffith in the role of Mayberry Sheriff Andy Taylor. At the courthouse, it turns out that Andy is also the judge and when he imposes a fine, Danny demands to speak to the mayor. “All right,” drawls Andy as he picks up the phone and tells the operator to give him the mayor’s office. A second phone on the desk of the sheriff/judge rings and Taylor picks it up and answers, “Mayor’s office, Mayor speaking.”
Any first-year law student would know an attorney cannot rule on his own objection. That is very definition of a kangaroo court. And if he is not acquainted with that basic rule that every high school debater knows, the practice of law is the last occupation he should be pursuing. Perhaps he would be better suited to cleaning Porta-Johns.
And for that, he holds a $450,000 contract with the board.
But it gets better.
Ten years earlier, in hearings on charges against Dr. Randall Schaffer, Begue had openly violated a Louisiana Supreme Court order to cease participating in board proceedings by serving as both prosecutor and board general counsel. Yet, he continued that same practice in Dr. Haygood’s hearings before the board—and in all likelihood, will again in the next case against some unsuspecting dentist.
Haygood ultimately was convicted on eight separate charges, three of which had been dropped before his hearing took place, a quantum stretch its own right on the part of the board. He was fined $5,000 on each of the eight counts ($40,000) and ordered to pay not only his own attorney fees but those of the board and the fees of board investigator Camp Morrison (combined total of $133,000), for a total financial penalty of $173,000. Additionally, the board ordered permanent revocation of Haygood’s dentistry license.
The activities of board-contracted private investigator Morrison are almost as bad—except he has received eight contracts since 1997 totaling “only” $1.735 million, more than a million dollars less than Begue, but still nothing to sneeze at.
What’s more, the board pushed a bill through the Louisiana Legislature two years ago that allows the board to provide legal representation for Morrison—at the board’s (read: taxpayer) cost, a benefit bestowed upon no other state contractor.
Also, Morrison is provided a rent-free office in the LSBD suite on the 26th floor of One Canal Place in New Orleans, a suite for which the board pays a whopping $4,700 per month in rent.
Occasionally, contract workers for state agencies are provided work space in state offices but that is only for those jobs which cannot be performed offsite. But it is unheard of for a state contractor to be provided legal representation. In fact, the reverse is true. Contractors are required to maintain their own errors and omission insurance and to provide their own legal counsel in case of litigation—and those contracts contain hold harmless clauses, or indemnification, for the state.
So, the question obviously is what did Dr. Haygood do to bring the wrath of the LSDB down upon him?
A better question might be what did Morrison and Begue do?
We will attempt to address the two questions in order.
Apparently, Haygood’s biggest sin was opening offices in Shreveport and Bossier City and initiating an aggressive advertising campaign that resulted in attracting former patients of prominent Shreveport dentist Ross Dies who was one of several defendants named in a federal lawsuit filed by Haygood.
Other defendants include Morrison; unlicensed investigators Karen Moorhead and Dana Glorioso hired by Morrison and who Haygood says posed as patients, giving him false symptoms in order to help Morrison build his case against Haywood; former LSDB executive director Barry Ogden; members of LSBD, and several dentists who Haygood says assisted LSDB in its investigation of him.
The fact that board member Dr. H.O. Blackwood also was a Haygood competitor in the Shreveport area didn’t help, Haygood says in his lawsuit.
Haygood says in his lawsuit that Ogden and Begue were “well aware” at the time Ogden appointed Begue as independent counsel that Begue had already “participated in the investigation or prosecution of the case” against Haygood. “In fact, Begue began discussing the investigation with Morrison as early as April 2007, at the outset of the investigation, and he conducted conversations with Ogden, Morrison and other board members regarding the status of the investigation long before he (Begue) was appointed independent counsel.” Haygood said that as long-time counsel for the board, Begue “was aware that his activities prior to the appointment by Ogden disqualified him for service as independent counsel.”
Haygood said that aggressive, unrestrained investigation tactics employed by Morrison and Begue “create an obligation of the board to pay costs that it is typically unable to pay,” costs that are passed on to the dentist under investigation if he is convicted—and few brought before the board escape without some type of monetary penalty.
“Morrison utilizes coercive and threatening tactics when interviewing witnesses,” Haygood said. While conducting his investigation of Haygood, for example, Morrison appeared at the home of Haygood’s hygienist, Julie Snyder, at 8:30 p.m. during her maternity leave, the lawsuit says. “Finding her home alone with her newborn baby, Morrison told Snyder that he knew that she and Haygood were guilty and pressed her to admit wrongdoing, Haygood says, adding that other dentists “have had to have police officers assist in removing Morrison from their offices after he refused to leave.”
It should be noted that when a dentist is brought before the board for a hearing on charges brought against him, the board is represented by Begue and another lawyer designated as the prosecuting attorney. The dentist, on the other hand, is not allowed to have legal representation before the board.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, in its September 2012 ruling, noted that board member Dr. Conrad McVea, Jr. directed Morrison “to send people in” to Haygood’s offices. This was the son of former board member Conrad McVea, Sr. who told Dr. Randall Schaffer, who is Jewish, that he could never maintain the professional standard of care in his practice because he had never accepted Jesus as his personal savior. The obvious question here is: are board memberships passed down from father to son like some type of inheritance or family heirloom?
Moorhead was recommended as one of the two unlicensed investigators to pose as patients by Dr. White Graves, a former board member and Moorhead’s employer, the Fourth Circuit decision says.
“Dr. Haygood argues that he was not afforded due process at the hearing before the board,” the appeal court said. “He also contends that during four days of testimony, Mr. Begue ‘repeatedly interfered and zealously advocated on behalf of the board by cross-examining witnesses, supplying objections to complaint counsel, and questioning the credibility of Dr. Haygood.’
“We have comprehensively reviewed the transcripts of the four-day hearing and we agree with Dr. Haygood’s representation of Mr. Begue’s actions.”
The Fourth Circuit’s decision further said that Begue’s “twofold role as prosecutor and adjudicator violated Dr. Haygood’s right to a hearing that is fair and impartial. The type of commingling found in this case is strictly prohibited by the Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act.
“Based upon our review of the record, we find that Mr. Begue’s functions of general counsel, independent counsel, prosecutor and fact-finder were so interwoven that they became indistinguishable, which created the appearance of impropriety and deprived the proceedings of the imperative and fundamental appearance of fairness.
“Therefore, the board’s decision to revoke Dr. Haygood’s license must be reversed,” the ruling said, adding that the board “improperly combined the prosecutorial and judicial functions by allowing its general counsel, Mr. Begue, to serve as the prosecutor, general counsel, panel member and adjudicator for the proceedings. We hold this conduct is violative of the Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act and Dr. Haygood’s due process right to a neutral adjudicator and a fair hearing.”
“We find the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry’s decision to revoke Dr. C. Ryan Haygood’s dental license is arbitrary and capricious; therefore, we reverse the trial court’s judgment (the state district court had earlier upheld most of the board’s actions) which affirmed the revocation of Dr. Haygood’s license and remand this matter to the board for a new hearing.”
Wait. What? Remanded to the board for a new hearing?
Yep. The Haygood matter went right back to the board to be heard by the same panel.
You don’t need three tries to guess the odds of a different outcome for the rehearing. One might have a better chance in Warren Buffett’s $1 billion prize for picking the winner of every game in the NCAA March Madness bracket.
Haygood, realizing he would never receive a fair hearing, much less a different outcome in repeated appearances before the board, finally packed up his chair and drill and moved to North Carolina where he currently practices his trade. But because he refuses to give the board the satisfaction of backing down, his hearing is still pending.
And that is how kangaroo courts work.
Louisiana Voice 
The Circuit Court in New Orleans is the Fifth Circuit Court. The 4th is in Richmond, VA.
Unless, of course you meant the Louisiana 4th Circuit Court of Appeal. I thought you meant the Federal Court.
It is the Louisiana Fourth Circuit. The confusion stems from the mention in my post that Dr. Haygood also has a federal lawsuit pending against the board, Morrison, Begue and several dentists.
I have no problems saying that both Morrison and Begue should have THEIR licenses revoked. This is the biggest racket I’ve ever seen.
Jail time will come for a good number of people. Deservedly so. As a dental professional, I want to commend Dr Haygood for sticking up for himself and his reputation. Most would cave and run away due to fear from even harsher retribution. I am not a lawyer, but I would imagine his civil rights were violated, no?
There is certainly a civil rights violation, including deprivation of rights under the color of law. This is a federal issue and is a big deal. Where is the FBI?!!
Fantastic reporting once again. This story is unbelievable. Thanks to Tom, however, at least I can make some sort of sense of what happened and just how outrageous it is. Is the goal of the Board of Dentistry to drive any competition to any of their friends and/or associates out of our state? Wouldn’t we be better served by a Board that looks out for the dental health of our state? Thanks to Tom, once again, for watching out for the mental health of our state. My only fear is, how many other Boards follow similar practices.
Not to beat a dead horse, but this and other such boards and commissions were created by their members. They support themselves by assessments paid by their members. They do not receive direct state funding, but use their existence as state entities as a stick to regulate themselves.
The statutes that authorize them can be repealed by simple legislation.
OBVIOUS QUESTION: If this absolutely ridiculous stuff is going on, why don’t enough dentists (who are, after all, paying for this in every respect) get together and either oust the board’s management or go to one or more legislators with a request for legislation striking the board from the state statutes?
Stephen, I am a medical doctor and from what I see in my profession, we doctors are “too busy” to show up at our local Medical Society Meetings until the Medical Board harshly and unfairly punishes us for some minor offense. Unfortunately, once this happens, that physician’s complaints are discredited by his colleagues, because he gets lumped in with those physicians who have committed serious offenses and anyway, “He must have done something wrong!” I suspect the same is true for the dental profession and I believe you are right to question why we don’t get involved and do something about it. Until then, these boards will independendly decide what is fair and unfair.
Just found more on the Haygood lawsuit here http://www.la2nd.org/archives/docs/b64701
It doesn’t sound good for Ross Dies and others.
Click to access b64701.pdf
Does the Dental Board steer clear of malpractice issues that would involve Insurance Company investigations? Seems like Insurance Companies, by way of their generous legislator campaign contributions, could and would wave a large enough flag as to get legislative action passed that would end this Kangaroo Court charade.
I find it difficult to sympathize with dentists who as a group are some of the most greedy medical practitioners, but rationalize coming to their defense in this matter because their need to set aside funds to cover unwarranted fines and penalties is only serving to further increase dental care costs to consumers.
The LSBD is NOT supposed to involve itself in billing issues or malpractice suits. However, we have seen them do both. We have even seen them charge a dentist with fraud on a per-instance-basis on Medicaid over billing that had already been reimbursed to Medicaid. A dentist paid $55k in 2012 to retain her license when Medicaid took NO issue with her, but the LSBD still called her fraudulent. She was told that she could pay the money or lose her license. Keep in mind that this was a minority dentist. The board can manipulate the law any way it wants to extort money out of dentists. It basically challenges the dentist to appeal its decision. All fines and fees have to be paid in order appeal the LSBD’s verdict, which becomes cost prohibitive for most dentists.
I am a former patient of Dr. Haygood’s. He was without a doubt the best, most meticulous dentist that I had ever visited; a true perfectionist. Everyone that knew him and knew he had been charged was in complete disbelief. I applaud his efforts in standing up for himself. I know that this was done at a great cost to him both personally and financially. Any dentist that has ever gone before the board knows that if you stand before the LSBD – you are guilty! Mr. Aswell – it would be great if you could cover a story on dentists that have been charged by the board versus how many have walked out cleared of any conviction. I bet the number is a whopping zero. Once again, thank you for bringing us the stories that are so often overlooked by the media. Dr. Haygood – you keep fighting!
When I read the article Tom wrote on March 7th I was in disbelief. When I read the one yesterday regarding the LSBD and Dr. Haygood I was aghast! I took it upon myself to do a little research. Considering both articles, I went to the LSBD’ s website to find their mission statement which reads, “Our mission is to protect the public by regulating the professions of dentistry and dental hygiene in Louisiana in accordance with the Dental Practice Act.”
Not being familiar with the DPA, I decided to dig a little deeper and found the duties of the board are to “investigate complaints of illegal practice or a violation of this Chapter when evidence is presented to the board.”
Hmmm. That said PRESENTED not created, fabricated, or designed.
No, I’m not a dentist, but I have one. And I’m sure the LSBD does some legitimate work to punish those violating policy and procedure but in these situations I am appalled with the behavior of this group of so called “professionals.” Brian Begue should be absolutely ashamed of himself. He is incredibly embroiled in this scandal – it’s outrageous! I believe the lawyer’s oath mentions something about fairness, civility and integrity? Maybe he was asleep during that portion.
Dentists are not allowed to have legal representation when charges are being brought against them? Really? According to DPA §780 it states “A. (1) In all cases where a charge is made against any unlicensed person, licensed dentist, or licensed dental hygienist practicing in this state…the president shall also notify the accused to attend the hearing and inform him that he may appear with counsel…”
And Camp Morrison should have his PI license revoked. Bullying tactics are so 3rd grade and at last check are not tolerated. Hiring ladies to pose as patients? Sounds like a desperate and pathetic attempt to justify his salary and position.
I don’ t know about anyone else but I can’t wait to see how many of these jokers end up in jail, without licenses, or punished to the fullest extent of the law. I applaud Dr. Haygood for standing up for not only himself, but also all dentists who have been attacked and harassed by the LSBD. It is OBVIOUS he was a target and the LSBD was doing whatever it could to ruin him. I can’t wait until this comes full circle because now their shenanigans have been brought to light.
I must admit the kangaroo court analogy was a good one. I prefer the three ring circus- clowns everywhere!
Tom, remember the Dentist Dr. Allen who got in trouble because he was not charging enough and failed to clean teeth each time a patient came in? He finally won. and the La. River Pilots who wouldn’t let anyone join except family members? You should look at the La. National Guard and see if any of Guard members have contracts with the State, especially lawyers who might be truly double dipping, ron thompson
Where is the Private Investigators Board during all this? Isn’t sending in non-licensed investigators illegal? If I remember correctly, there is a high fine ($10,000 or so) and possible jail time involved. Who told these ladies to lie?
Certainly the attorney for the LSDB knew this was unlawful. Why did he allow this to happen? Surely he had to be aware. I realize someone asked it before, but where is the FBI? Isn’t it way past time for them to get involved?
This really is some fantastic reporting. It is too bad that Morrison and Begue will probably remain in their comfortable positions making a crap load of money and harrassing some totally innocent people for years to come.
This stuff could never happen if board members weren’t complicit. McVea told Morrison to send people in. That’s a crime, and he deserves to be punished, as well. It is interesting to note that McVea was sworn in as VP of the board in December but today no longer appears on the board roster. Neither does James Moreau. Both dentists assisted Begue in violating Haygood’s due process.
The LSDB and The auctioneer Board and the Louisiana Medical Board and on and on is so full of corruption that the FBI would have to make Louisiana a top priority as if there isn’t corruption and serious investigations elsewhere. It all comes down to who we the voters elect to serve the state, parish, school boards, and government wide offices (who serve the voters.) Louisiana is a state not only known for ranking in the bottom 5 of every undesirable ranking possible but mostly for nepotism, corruption, fraud,etc.., and it stems from electing people who have absolutely no knowledge of what a functional and community enhanced state looks like because most don’t know the basics of the branches of government nor how to look up statutes and author bills . They have to hire people with these skills that everyone should have. Is the FBI coming to our rescue?, don’t hold your breath. Tom has exposed most every crooked corner of the state and until the masses go down to the capitol and say we are firing every one of you whom we elected based on lies then we have what we have. Let’s hope we learn from this. Know the bills that are being passed and follow the money. If you have learned one thing from Tom’s hard work I hope that stands out. Vote, Vote, and stop being afraid to cross party lines. Most of these crooks are Republicans. Jindal appointed every one of them. We shouldn’t be afraid to cross party lines because there is good and bad in both and voting only for a crooked republican or a greedy democrat still leaves you with corruption.
Jindal is the jab in our side that keeps on jabbing. Every story is a reflection of it. And its not over yet….
are there any Doctors in Louisiana who are standing up for their constitutional rights?
Begue has been a bully his entire adult life, and there’s not much worse than a bully with a license to practice law, especially when condoned by a corrupt state agency. Would it come as a surprise that college fraternity brothers Barry Ogden and Begue share a certain bond? How do you spell nepotism, kangaroo court, banana republic?