Posted on 01/26/2004 4:48:57 PM PST by AlwaysLurking
Limbaugh's pill use not extraordinary, lawyer says
BY DANIEL de VISE ddevise@herald.com
Rush Limbaugh's attorney mounted an offensive Monday, accusing Palm Beach County prosecutors of smear tactics and likening his client to any ordinary American with chronic pain.
''This nation is full of people who take medication every day and will do so for the rest of their lives,'' said Roy Black, speaking in a news conference in Miami.
Discussing the prescription-drug abuse allegations in unprecedented detail, Black reasoned that the quantity of medicine Limbaugh is accused of ingesting -- 1,800 pills in 210 days -- works out to roughly 8.5 pills a day, ``certainly not an outrageous amount.''
Black questioned the motives of Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer in releasing details last week of sensitive plea negotiations between Limbaugh and prosecutors.
The December correspondence, unflattering to Limbaugh, shows the radio talk-show host proposing to settle the case through treatment, potentially averting a permanent criminal record. Prosecutors counter: Plead guilty to a single felony charge of ''doctor shopping'' and avoid prison time. Both offers were rejected.
Black said the plea negotiations shouldn't have been released. He portrayed the incident as part of a politically motivated campaign to discredit his client.
Black said the government's plea offer came with a veiled threat: If Limbaugh did not plead guilty, the state would release his confidential medical records.
''The only conclusion that I can draw is that Mr. Limbaugh ... is being singled out more than anyone else for actions that no one else in this community would be subjected to,'' Black said.
Black and other prominent South Florida attorneys said they couldn't recall another case of plea negotiations released to the public.
''There has to be some thought about the long-term consequence'' of routinely releasing such documents, said Robert Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University. ``And the long-term consequence in this case is that no one would begin a negotiation about a plea.''
But Michael Edmondson, spokesman for the Palm Beach County state attorney, said prosecutors were confident they'd done the right thing.
Prosecutors consulted the Attorney General's Office and the Florida Bar in response to the Jan. 15 public records request by the Landmark Legal Foundation, which sought all available documents in the case. They concluded the state public records law required releasing the plea dealings, even though doing so violates ethical rules for lawyers.
''The way the Florida public records law works is, anything that is not specifically exempted under the law is permitted,'' Edmondson said. State law trumps any ethical concerns, he said.
But he offered nothing in writing to back up that account. And Limbaugh's legal team produced documents Monday that seemed to contradict it.
Telephone notes from a Florida Bar attorney, paraphrasing Kirscher himself, state that plea negotiations ``are not normally to be revealed [and] so may or may not be [a] public record.''
Attorney General spokeswoman JoAnn Carrin wouldn't say what legal advice her agency gave the chief Palm Beach County prosecutor, citing the ongoing investigation.
Prosecutors began investigating possible prescription-drug abuses by Limbaugh, 53, last year, based on a report from his former maid. Limbaugh has not been charged with any crime.
Limbaugh's attorney accused Edmondson, the state attorney spokesman, of leaking a false story last month that Limbaugh was poised to plead guilty to doctor-shopping. Edmondson denied the assertion.
Doctor-shopping is duping multiple physicians into dispensing excessive prescription medications.
''I can say categorically now that Mr. Limbaugh would not plead guilty to doctor-shopping, and that's because Mr. Limbaugh did not engage in doctor-shopping of any kind,'' Black said.
The following questions and answers are intended to be used as a reference only -- interested parties should refer to the Florida Statutes and applicable case law before drawing legal conclusions.
Q. What is the Sunshine Law?
A. Florida's Government-in-the-Sunshine law provides a right of access to governmental proceedings at both the state and local levels. It applies to any gathering of two or more members of the same board to discuss some matter which will foreseeably come before that board for action. There is also a constitutionally guaranteed right of access. Virtually all state and local collegial public bodies are covered by the open meetings requirements with the exception of the judiciary and the state Legislature which has its own constitutional provision relating to access.Another strawman knocked on its face.
Q. When does a document sent to a public agency become a public document?
A. As soon as a document is received by a public agency, it becomes a public record, unless there is a legislatively created exemption which makes it confidential and not subject to disclosure.MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON FLORIDA'S OPEN GOVERNMENT LAWS
Well, it was your quote I was responding to. Perhaps in your best libertine vernacular, you can explain to the audience when, in your mind, heavenly pursuits end and hellish ones begin?
Nor is it a state or local collegial body is it?
I concede that this is the law in Florida, and that there probably is a similar law in Pennsylvania.
Given that, do you really think that if I called my county prosecutor and told him I think my neighbor is abusing prescription drugs, that the Prosecutor would immediately launch into a criminaL investigation and subpeona all that neighbor's doctor records??? (That is essentially what happened to Limbaugh)
I'll even go you one further. Do you think that if I (illegally) tape recorded my neighbor talking to me about drugs, and then gave that to the Prosecutor, that he wouldn't then CHARGE ME, or at least laugh me out of his/her office.
There are reasons for our consitutional rights in the USA, and that is to prevent politically motivated investigations like the one against Limbaugh.
Well, we don't have to worry about "Lumbergh" Krischner being one of those trying to access the Florida statutes. He's a Democrat - he just makes them up as he goes along. ;-)
Don't confuse the plant with the facts. ;-)
Excuse me, ClintonBe, have you ever in your life driven a vehicle after having a drink or two?
Or have you ever had a garage sale, and then didn't declare the earned income to the IRS??
Then you too are a lawbreaker, possibly a felon, and I would appreciate if you marched right down to the local police headquarters and turn yourself in, along with all the evidence needed to prosecute yourself, don't forget.
Really, your stance against Limbaugh, if not so pathetic, is almost scary. I suppose you also advocate that prosecutors all across America begin confiscating all the medical records of all who admit to having either an alcohol or pill addiction problem.
Of course he wouldn't. And here we're on the same page. You have to respect what's called prosecutorial discretion. The prosecutor doesn't HAVE to prosecute every crime. But if he decides to, and you've give him enough evidence to convict you, it's not a defense that everyone else does it and you shouldn't be singled out. Rush's groupies fail to appreciate that and have instead poked a finger in the prosecutor's eye. Until he decides not to charge Rush, I think that's an absolutely foolish thing to do.
So, you believe that Rush committed a crime?
...Then you too [ClintonBeGone] are a lawbreaker, possibly a felon, and I would appreciate if you marched right down to the local police headquarters and turn yourself in, along with all the evidence needed to prosecute yourself, don't forget.
You'll notice that our prolific writer of fiction, CBG, didn't answer the question. :-)
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