STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

LAURENCE MIRVIS, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 90-4399

)

BETTY CASTOR, as Commissioner ) of Education, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

This matter was heard by William R. Dorsey, Jr., the Hearing Officer designated by the Division of Administrative Hearings, on February 5, 1991, in Tallahassee, Florida.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: No Appearance

For Respondent: Robert J. Boyd, Esquire

352 Florida Education Center

325 West Gaines Street Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE

The issue is whether Mr. Mirvis is eligible to receive a Florida teacher's certificate.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

The Notice of Hearing in this matter was entered on December 19, 1990, setting the matter for hearing in Tallahassee, Florida. The Notice was addressed to Mr. Mirvis at the address reflected on the letter he had sent to the Department of Education requesting a hearing, but he did not appear at the time set for the hearing. No transcript of the hearing was filed, and the Department of Education waived the opportunity to file a proposed recommended order. During the hearing the Department entered two composite exhibits in evidence. The first consists of certified copies of documents arising from a 1980 case brought against Mr. Mirvis in the 19th Judicial Circuit in and for Martin County, Florida for carrying a concealed firearm. They include an arrest affidavit, a probable cause finding by the County Court Judge, a financial information affidavit executed by Mr. Mirvis, an order of the county court releasing Mr. Mirvis on his own recognizance, an affidavit by the state attorney reducing the charges against Mr. Mirvis to charges to be handled in the county court, another arrest affidavit, an order from the county court setting bond for Mr. Mirvis, and an order from the county court recording Mr. Mirvis' plea of

guilty, upon the advice of his attorney, and sentencing him to 60 days in jail with credit for 20 days time served, plus one year of nonreporting probation conditioned upon his agreement to leave Martin County.

The second composite exhibit is made up of certified documents from the circuit court for the 15th Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, which include information for carrying a concealed firearm, an affidavit of probable cause by the arresting officer, a judgment of conviction in the Circuit Court of Palm Beach County for carrying a concealed firearm, and a copy of the sentence imposed on August 7, 1985 for time already served in the county jail.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Laurence Mirvis completed an application for a Florida teacher's certificate on January 23, 1989, which the Department received on January 27, 1989.

   
   

2. In 1981, Mr. Mirvis was charged in the circuit court with carrying a concealed weapon by the state attorney in Martin County, Florida, in the case styled State of Florida v. Larry Mirvis, Case No. 80-751CF. The matter was refiled as a misdemeanor prosecution in the county court, as State of Florida v. Mirvis, Case No. 80-19232MM. Mr. Mirvis was found guilty by the county judge based upon plea of guilty he entered after discussing the matter with his attorney, was sentenced to 60 days in the county jail, one year of nonreporting probation conditioned upon leaving Martin County.

   
   

3. A little over three years later, on January 22, 1984, Mr. Mirvis was arrested in Delray Beach, Florida for threatening an employee at a convenience store who had followed Mr. Mirvis into the parking lot because he believed Mr. Mirvis had taken items from the store without paying for them. In the parking lot Mr. Mirvis had pointed a handgun at the employee and then fled. On August 7, 1985, Mr. Mirvis was adjudged guilty of carrying a concealed firearm, a third degree felony, in violation of Section 790.01(2), Florida Statutes, upon entering a plea of guilty. He was sentenced to time served.

   
   

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

4. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over this matter. Section 120.57(1), Florida Statutes.

   
   

5. As an applicant for a teacher's certificate, Mr. Mirvis bears the burden of establishing his entitlement to the license. Rule 28-6.008(3), Florida Administrative Code.

   
   

6. An applicant for a teaching certificate must be of good moral character, Section 231.17(1)(e), Florida Statutes. The Department of Education may deny a teacher's certificate to an applicant if the applicant has committed an act for which the Education Practices Commission would be authorized to revoke the certificate if the applicant already held one. Section 231.17(6)(a), Florida Statutes. The Education Practices Commission may discipline a teacher who has been convicted of a misdemeanor, a felony, or any criminal charge other than a minor traffic violation, Section 231.28(1)(e), Florida Statutes, and may discipline a teacher who is guilty of gross immorality or an act involving moral turpitude. Section 231.28(1)(c), Florida Statutes.

7. The repeated convictions of Mr. Mirvis for firearms violations establish Mr. Mirvis' ineligibility for a teacher's certificate based upon those convictions, which also reflect moral turpitude, and demonstrate that he does not possess the good moral character required of a teacher under Section 231.17(1)(e), Florida Statutes.

RECOMMENDATION

Based upon the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that a Final Order be entered by the Commissioner of Education

denying the application of Laurence Mirvis for a Florida teacher's certificate.

DONE and ENTERED this 12th day of February, 1991, at Tallahassee, Florida.

WILLIAM R. DORSEY, JR.

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1550

(904) 488-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings

this 12th day of February, 1991.

Copies furnished:

Robert J. Boyd, Esquire

352 Florida Education Center

325 West Gaines Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400

Laurence Mirvis

Post Office Box 6821

Delray Beach, Florida 33484

Karen B. Wilde, Executive Director Education Practices Commission

325 West Gaines Street, #301 Tallahassee, Florida 32399

Martin Schaap, Administrator Professional Practices Services

325 West Gaines Street, Room 352 Tallahassee, Florida 32399

Sydney H. McKenzie, General Counsel Department of Education

The Capitol, PL-08

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO SUBMIT EXCEPTIONS:

All parties have the right to submit written exceptions to this Recommended Order. All agencies allow each party at least 10 days in which to submit written exceptions. Some agencies allow a larger period within which to submit written exceptions. You should contact the agency that will issue the final order in this case concerning agency rules on the deadline for filing exceptions to this Recommended Order. Any exceptions to this Recommended Order should be filed with the agency that will issue the final order in this case.

Docket for Case No: 90-004399

Orders for Case No: 90-004399