Iowa Licensing Board Prevails in Doctor’s Federal Court Fight

An Iowa-licensed physician who lives in Florida can’t sue Iowa’s medical board in federal court to stop a license revocation proceeding, a federal appeals court said Monday.

A federal trial court properly abstained from hearing the case under the US Supreme Court’s Younger v. Harris doctrine, which says federal courts must stay out of state criminal proceedings except under special circumstances, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit said.

The Iowa Board of Medicine’s proceeding against Shafik Wassef was “akin” to a criminal proceeding, the court said. It was judicial in nature, implicated important state interests, and provided ...