And from the Stuff I Was Going To Publish Yesterday But Didn't Have The Time Department: Eric Scheffey, the poster boy for tort "reform" opponents who was arrested in 2005 for allegedly practicing medicine without the license he finally had revoked, has beaten the rap.
Scheffey's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, said prosecutors made the decision after a day of testimony from former patients asserting that Scheffey treated them after his license was suspended."Mr. Scheffey is very relieved," DeGuerin said. "Now he can go on with his family."
In a bench trial in front of state District Judge Vanessa Velasquez, DeGuerin explained away the charges, saying Scheffey was working to transfer his 800 patients to other doctors after his medical license was suspended.
"He had a moral and ethical duty to transfer care," DeGuerin said.
Prosecutors based their case against Scheffey on the testimony of five former patients who said Scheffey was treating, not transferring them.
[...]
Assistant District Attorney Rob Freyer said he decided to drop the charges because he didn't think the state could meet the burden of proof in the case. He said prosecutors will file paperwork next week to dismiss the charges.
"Sometimes the way things come out in trial are different than the way they are before trial," Freyer said. "This is the just course of action."