Pubdate: Wed, 06 Jul 2005
Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Copyright: 2005 Sun-Sentinel Company
Contact:  http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159
Author: Missy Stoddard
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/rush+limbaugh

PROSECUTORS GIVEN GREEN LIGHT TO REVIEW SOME OF LIMBAUGH'S MEDICAL RECORDS

After nearly two years of legal posturing, prosecutors got the green
light on Wednesday to review some -- but not all -- of Rush Limbaugh's
medical records, a necessary step, the state maintains, in determining
whether it can charge Limbaugh with doctor shopping -- illegally
obtaining overlapping prescriptions for a number of different
painkillers.

Limbaugh attorney Roy Black had opposed the state being given access
to his client's medical records, arguing that they were improperly
seized, contained potentially embarrassing medical details and invaded
Limbaugh's constitutional right to privacy.

After reviewing the records, Circuit Judge Thomas Barkdull on
Wednesday handed over two stacks of documents sealed in plastic to
Assistant State Attorney James Martz and Black, whose stack was
substantially thicker. Barkdull wrote in his formal order that the
state was given only those records that fell within the scope of the
investigation. The rest were returned to Black. The order cautioned
that a protective order barring the State Attorney's Office from
disclosing the records to anyone not involved in the investigation
remains in effect.

Prosecutors are seeking to investigate prescriptions Limbaugh received
from Florida and California doctors between March 2003 and September
2003.

According to search warrants, during that time Limbaugh picked up
1,733 hydrocodone pills, 90 OxyContin pills, 50 Xanax tablets and 40
time-release morphine pills.

Black blasted the news media after Wednesday's hearing, saying the
number of pills is being manipulated to embarrass Limbaugh. If the
1,733 hydrocodone tablets are divided over the 212-day period in
question, Black said, that comes to just over eight pills per day, two
fewer than what Limbaugh was prescribed.

In a prepared statement, Martz said the investigation has been stalled
long enough. "After the review of this office's use of a search
warrant by five separate courts, including the 4th DCA (District Court
of Appeal) and the Florida Supreme Court ..... the review of those
records now goes forward in earnest, despite the many efforts to
derail the investigation over the past 19 months," Martz said.

Black said there's a dangerous trend under way in the United States in
which prosecutors are trampling on "what we thought were pretty strong
constitutional rights." Citing Los Angeles District Attorney Tom
Sneddon, who unsuccessfully prosecuted the child molestation case
against Michael Jackson, Black said some prosecutors are going to
great lengths to take down celebrities.

The State Attorney's Office declined to comment on when the
investigation might be completed.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin