When Anne Mitchell, an administrative nurse from Kermit, Texas wrote to the medical board about concerns she had about Dr. Rolando G. Arafiles Jr. medical practices, she felt there was a chance that she may lose her job. What she didn't expect, was that she would be on trial for a third degree felony for "misuse of official information. Charges against a second nurse, Vickilyn Galle, who helped Mrs. Mitchell write the letter, were dismissed at the prosecutor’s discretion last week.

Mrs. Mitchell feels that as an administrative nurse, she had a professional obligation to protect patients from what she saw as a pattern of improper prescribing and surgical procedures. The prosecutor claims that Mrs. Mitchell had a history of making “inflammatory” statements about Dr. Arafiles and intended to damage his reputation when she reported him last April to the Texas Medical Board. Because the trial has divided the community, the judge felt it would be best if moved to a neighboring county.