Justin Ryan McCarthy v. State
The Texas Court of Appeals, Third District, conditionally granted a petition for writ of mandamus filed by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy. The Board challenged a trial court's order allowing discovery in judicial review suits initiated by three individual accountants concerning the Board's disciplinary decisions. The appellate court held that the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) does not authorize the use of general discovery rules in judicial review proceedings, even when procedural irregularities are alleged. The court reasoned that while the APA provides for discovery at the agency level, it deliberately omits such provisions for judicial review, thereby limiting the scope of review to the agency record except for evidence of procedural irregularities.