Does free speech mean anyone can call themselves a doctor, too?
Beckerman, in the 25-page written ruling, declared that
Järlström may study and, communicate publicly or privately
about his theories relating to traffic lights, as long as
his remarks occur outside the context of any employment or
contractual relationship with a governmental or other
group that regulates traffic light-timing.
See United States v. Alvarez for a Supreme Court case that grapples with such issues. A man falsely claimed to be a veteran and a recipient of the Medal of Honor at a government meeting. He was prosecuted and convicted for this conduct. He appealed to the Supreme Court and won.
In the US, laws restricting speech are generally unconstitutional unless the government can demonstrate both a compelling need to restrict it and the law is sufficiently narrowly construed to actually restrict only that speech which needs to be restricted for that need. In general, prohibition of self-appellations like engineer and doctor in commercial speech is considered constitutional.
In this case, the ruling found that the statute in question was broad enough to encompass more than commercial speech, and that the agency had repeatedly shown itself to believe that it did. Furthermore, it found that the use of the term "engineer," even in a commercial context, didn't inherently mislead people to believe that it referred to a certified and licensed engineer, and so the ban is overly broad. Note that if the terminology were to use specific accreditations, such as certified public accountant or registered practicing engineer, that line of argument would not work. The court concludes that only deleting the word "engineer" from two separate places in the law is necessary to conform with constitutional practice, so if the person in question had instead claimed themselves to be a "professional engineer", they would still be liable under the law.
If the law were written differently, then a ban on calling oneself an engineer (or doctor) would pass constitutional muster. It might even be possible to have a constitutional law that would prohibit Dr. Oz from calling himself Dr. Oz, although I do concede that it would be a difficult construction.
The guy would approach women in apartment parking lots, tell them they have a disease and he could “cure” them with sex, because he has been injected with the cure. He successfully convinced and had sex with multiple women, and he actually charged them $750 to boot.
As you might expect one of the charges was fraud...turns out men’s right to lie to women’s out being a doctor to get them into bed is constitutionally protected free speech.
California amended the law after the Boro case, showing there was no consitutional right to obtain sex via frauduent medical procedures.
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-court-of-appeal/1841426.html
http://nysbar.com/blogs/lawstudentconnection/2013/11/rape_by...
So, obviously the issue is more narrow than you’re suggesting. You can’t for example say you’re a doctor when doing so would also constitute fraud.
https://www.nspe.org/resources/licensure/what-pe
> To become licensed, engineers must complete a four-year college degree, work under a Professional Engineer for at least four years, pass two intensive competency exams and earn a license from their state's licensure board. Then, to retain their licenses, PEs must continually maintain and improve their skills throughout their careers.
> A century ago, anyone could work as an engineer without proof of competency. In order to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, the first engineering licensure law was enacted in 1907 in Wyoming. Now every state regulates the practice of engineering to ensure public safety by granting only Professional Engineers (PEs) the authority to sign and seal engineering plans and offer their services to the public.
To use the PE seal, engineers must complete several steps to ensure their competency.
* Earn a four-year degree in engineering from an accredited engineering program * Pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam * Complete four years of progressive engineering experience under a PE * Pass the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam
You can’t call yourself a Realtor without belonging to a specific organization, but you can call yourself a real estate agent.
Professional Engineer is a specific discipline handed a government monopoly on certification for structural engineers. Nothing more
It's incredibly annoying. I have relatives who have become completely swindled by this crap and regurgitate unscientific nonsense that their "Dr. Salesman" chiropractor prescribed. Blood-type diets, essential oils, overpriced transparencies to hide in rooms for their calming energy. Whenever I visit home I have to listen to this shit littered with Dr. as if it's legitimizing.
FML
If you can call yourself a horse, then it makes sense that you can also call yourself a doctor.
I have no problems with people calling themselves doctors (whether fake or real) unless they are doing so in order to gain a certain advantage (trust, credibility, etc).
I only have a problem when someone pretends to be a doctor if they're trying to profit or harm people in some way, by for example making medication or similar.
Now if there were a graduate degree for that, I'd audit a class or two.
I only googled that out of a sense that if someone was willing to be so dismissive off the cuff then perhaps, just perhaps, there actually really was a real Dr. Pepper and that I might find him and prove that person wrong.
Well... I didn't plan on learning that today.