McGrath v. Bureau of Professional & Occupational Affairs

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA WESTERN DISTRICT SHANNON MCGRATH, : No. 365 WAL 2016 : Respondent : : Petition for Allowance of Appeal from : the Order of the Commonwealth Court v. : : : BUREAU OF PROFESSIONAL AND : OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS, STATE : BOARD OF NURSING, : : Petitioner : ORDER PER CURIAM AND NOW, this 13th day of February, 2017, the Petition for Allowance of Appeal is GRANTED. The issues, as stated by the Petitioner, are: (1) Whether this Honorable Court should grant allocatur in a case of first impression in this Court and one of substantial public importance to consumer health and safety requiring prompt resolution involving the length of an automatic license suspension of a nurse licensee convicted of a drug felony where the Commonwealth Court incorrectly reversed its prior correct application of Section 1921(c) of the Statutory Construction Act and created a paradigm in which a nurse licensee may be suspended for as little as one day for the same conduct that bars a nurse applicant from obtaining a license for ten years? (2) Whether the Commonwealth Court erred in ignoring case law and the principles of statutory construction when it applied the rule of lenity to a statute that was no longer ambiguous under Packer’s interpretation? (3) Whether the Commonwealth Court erred in not applying the principle of stare decisis as Packer was not clearly contrary to the body of law?