Quote:
Originally Posted by postpicker
There are claims that Sabini being involved is a conflict of interest because Sabini was the Treasurer of ARCI when Ed Martin, President and CEO of ARCI, sent a letter to NYSRWB in February asking that state look into revoking Dutrow's license. So how can Dutrow get a fair hearing if one of the judges is involved in an organization (ARCI) that was asking to revoke license. Dutrow's lawyer asked that Sabini recuse himself from the process and Sabini refused. So if it is proven that Dutrow was denied due process because of conflict of interest, he will win appeal and then chances are, he can sue and get damages for what happened to him because he has been harmed by losing owners, horses, etc because of this ruling.
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The conflict is interesting, but it does not address the substance of the numerous violations which led to the imposition of the penalty. A license for anything issued by a State is a privilege, not a right. Therefore, the revoking agency is accorded a wide range of discretion. The appeals court is limited to a determination as to whether there was substantial evidence to support the findings made as opposed to being arbitrary or capricious.
Dutrow will have the burden of demonstrating that the conflict violated his due process rights to a fair hearing (and frankly administrative hearings in New York are not fair to begin with, they tend to almost always be stacked against the respondent). Even if he can overcome that hurdle, he then has to overcome the substantial evidence of the rules he has broken.
Dutrow's chances of overcoming both those hurdles are slim. As Chuck said, Dutrow has a better chance of convincing a court that the penalty is unduly harsh considering the level of evidence introduced against him. Even then, the Court is unlikely to act unless it finds the penalty shocks the Court's sense of fairness.
Dutrow may get a stay of the revocation pending appeals since he will be given the benefit of the doubt, but considering the number of violations his chances on appeal are slim IMO. Though the penalty is a stringent one, considering Dutrow's history of violations in NY and elsewhere, he may even have a hard time getting a reduction from the Courts.