Thompson v. Tex. Dep’t of Licensing & Reg. (Per Curiam)
Annotate this CasePetitioner was court-martialed for sexual abuse and assault and imprisoned for eighteen years. Approximately two decades after the conviction, Petitioner applied to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation for a tow truck operator’s license. The Department denied Petitioner’s application based on his conviction. Petitioner contested the denial. An administrative law judge (ALJ) from the State Office of Administrative Hearings recommended that the Department issue a license. The Department, however, revised the ALJ’s findings of fact and conclusions of law to reject Petitioner’s application. The trial court reversed the Department’s decision, concluding that the Department’s alterations of the findings and conclusions were unlawful. The court of appeals reversed, ruling that the Department’s modifications were improper because the ALJ misinterpreted a provision of the Texas Occupations Code concerning licensing restrictions where an applicant has previously been convicted of a crime. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the Department’s revisions of the findings of fact and conclusions of law constituted error because the revisions were unsupported by the plain language of the statute.
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