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AP 
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/brand/SIG=br2v03/*http://www.ap.org>
Court: Limbaugh Records Properly Seized

Wed Oct 6, 4:31 PM ET

/By JILL BARTON, Associated Press Writer/

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A Florida appeals court ruled Wednesday that 
prosecutors did not violate Rush Limbaugh's privacy rights when they 
paid a surprise visit to his doctors and seized his medical records for 
an investigation into his use of painkillers.

Photo 
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ydownload_ap/20041006/photos_net_ap_yn/1097087296>
AP Photo 
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ydownload_ap/20041006/photos_net_ap_yn/1097087296> 



Related Links

• 	Limbaugh vs. Florida 
<http://www.4dca.org/Oct2004/10-06-04/4D03-4973.pdf> [PDF] 
<http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/adobepdf.html> (4th District 
Court of Appeal)

        

Investigators raided the doctors' offices last November to see if the 
conservative radio commentator had engaged in "doctor shopping," or 
illegally visiting several doctors to receive duplicate prescriptions.

Limbaugh, 53, has not been charged with a crime and the investigation 
had been at a standstill pending a decision on the medical records, 
which prosecutors have not yet been allowed to examine.

The 4th District Court of Appeal rejected Limbaugh's claim that his 
privacy rights trumped investigators' power to seize his records, and 
also said prosecutors did not have to notify him of their search 
warrants or give him an opportunity to challenge them.

"The state's authority to seize such records by a validly issued search 
warrant is not affected by any right of privacy in such records," the 
three-judge panel ruled.

Limbaugh's attorney said he will appeal.

"This was a fishing expedition from the outset to see if there was 
anything they could find to charge me with," Limbaugh said on his 
afternoon radio show. "There was no doctor-shopping, but it was my 
contention all along that I shouldn't have to give up my right to 
privacy to prove my innocence. That's not the way it works in this 
country."

He also said: "The issue here goes beyond me, actually. It goes to the 
privacy of everyone's medical records."

Prosecutors went after Limbaugh's medical records after learning that he 
received about 2,000 painkillers, prescribed by four doctors in six 
months, at a pharmacy near his Palm Beach mansion.

Limbaugh admitted his addiction to pain medication last October, saying 
it stemmed from severe back pain. He took a five-week leave from his 
afternoon radio show to enter a rehab program.

State Attorney Barry Krischer, a Democrat accused by Limbaugh of 
pursuing him for political reasons, said the ruling will allow the case 
to move forward.

"This office did not violate any of Mr. Limbaugh's rights, 
constitutional or statutory, but to the contrary acted in accord with 
Florida law," Krischer said.

Limbaugh was supported by an unlikely ally — the American Civil 
Liberties Union (news 
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?fr=news-storylinks&p=%22American%20Civil%20Liberties%20Union%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw> 
- web sites 
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=web-storylinks&p=American%20Civil%20Liberties%20Union>). 
Randall Marshall, legal director for the Florida ACLU, said Wednesday's 
decision threatens the privacy rights of all Floridians.

If the ruling stands, Marshall said, "you would never have an 
opportunity to try and limit the information that police can go through."

___

On the Net:

Rush Limbaugh: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com 
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_en_ot/storytext/SIG=10tdsoan9/*http://www.rushlimbaugh.com> 


Florida 4th District Court of Appeal: http://www.4dca.org 
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_en_ot/storytext/SIG=10l1lt2s2/*http://www.4dca.org>