Prayer for Judgment Continued may be a Reportable Conviction for Professional License Holders
Most professional licensing boards require license holders to report a criminal conviction to the board within a certain time after the conviction. A prayer for judgment continued (commonly referred to as a “PJC”) is granted by a judge after a conviction is entered and suspends operation of any sentence upon payment of the court costs. A PJC cannot be granted until a conviction has been entered, and a PJC does not remove the conviction from the record. This means that a PJC usually will not avoid the reporting requirements of a professional licensing board.
A recent North Carolina Court of Appeals reinforced this analysis. In Mace v. North Carolina Department of Insurance, an insurance agent, hereinafter also referred to as “Petitioner,” was charged with simple assault. Petitioner pleaded not guilty but was found guilty at trial. After the finding of guilt, the judge granted a prayer for judgment continued. Insurance agents must report convictions to the Insurance Commissioner. Petitioner did not report the outcome to the Insurance Commissioner believing that the PJC was not an adjudication of guilt. The Department of Insurance (“DOI”) learned of the PJC and disciplined the insurance agent for failing to report. (It should be noted that the discipline was nominal here because the insurance agent failed to report on the advice of his defense attorney, who advised the agent that he did not have to report a PJC to the DOI.) Petitioner appealed to Superior Court, which affirmed the DOI decision. Petitioner then appealed to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the Superior Court’s decision.
The Court of Appeals explained that a prayer for judgment continued is still a conviction as defined by the Department of Insurance rules. Nothing in the reporting requirement created an exception for PJCs. Additionally, North Carolina’s Criminal Procedure Act defines a conviction as when a person “has been adjudged guilty or has entered a plea of guilty or no contest.” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-1331(b). Had the DOI reporting rules defined reportable events as a “judgment of conviction,” then the result may have been different. A judgment of conviction includes conviction and imposition of a sentence, and with a PJC a sentence is not imposed.
What do professional license holders do if charged with a crime?
A defense attorney must understand both criminal law and the administrative law specific to the professional license board. Representation of professional license holders is complex with two equally important goals: a favorable outcome in the North Carolina criminal justice system and preservation of the professional license. An attorney representing a professional license holder has to know how these initiatives intertwine. Sometimes a global resolution with the District Attorney’s Office and with the licensing board can be negotiated, and sometimes you have to prepare for battle on both fronts. Aggressive representation is a must.
What can a professional license holder do if they have a PJC or conviction on their record?
Some convictions, whether a PJC is granted or not, can be cleared up through the expunction process. An expunction is a legal process through the criminal courts to erase criminal records. If this is not an option, a motion for appropriate relief may be an option. The availability of these post-conviction relief measures is a case-specific analysis.
More about our firm’s Criminal Defense practice.
More about our firm’s Professional License Defense practice.
More about post-conviction relief.
Written by Landon White.
