Limbaugh Law - Hypocrisy in the defense of liberalism is no vice.

National Review ^ | February 26, 2004 | Mark R. Levin

[wcdukenfield]

You have to hand it to the Palm Beach Post. It doesn't let either principle or consistency get in the way of its own zeal to punish a conservative for his views. And not just any conservative: Rush Limbaugh. Sadly, many conservatives are either unaware of what's occurring, or don't care enough to speak against it.

First, a little background information. The state attorney in Palm Beach County, Democrat Barry Krischer, has spent more than a year and hundreds thousands of dollars trying - without success - to find a criminal charge to bring against Rush. Rush has made no secret that he was addicted to prescription medication. And he has sought rehabilitation, which continues to this day. If Rush had been a Democrat state judge or Democrat state senator in Florida, he would have been applauded for his courage in confronting his problem, as two such officials were, and that would have been that.

But in his zeal to silence Rush, Krischer has pursued a scorched-earth strategy against Limbaugh. Krischer's office has leaked false stories to the news media charging Rush with money laundering, with being part of a drug ring, and now, with doctor-shopping. It also released confidential communications with Rush's lawyer, Roy Black. Although the papers show that Black rejected any suggestion that Rush plead to any offense, the release of the communications was an extraordinary breach of ethical conduct. And to make matters worse, Krischer and his staff actually created a false record claiming that after consulting with the Florida Bar and the attorney general's office, they were advised that they must release the confidential letters. (This prompted Landmark Legal Foundation to file an ethics complaint against Krischer and his top counsel with the Florida Bar.)

Enter the Palm Beach Post editorial page. It has been Krischer's biggest and most blatant cheerleader in his crusade against Rush. When Krischer's office circumvented the lawful subpoena process and seized Rush's personal medical records without warning, the Post (on Dec. 19) had nothing but praise for the prosecutor's outrageous actions. "Belittling the police and prosecutors...might play well inside the talk-show host's small broadcast booth and in the bunkers that a fair number of his paranoid anti-government adherents inhabit," the Post said. "Such descriptions, however, have no place in the real world of courts and serious issues such as drug abuse."

This perverse law-and-order mentality was nowhere to be found, however, when the same Post editorial board denounced the Patriot Act which empowers federal law enforcement to (among other things) obtain and review medical records of suspected terrorists and terrorist supporters. Such measures in the war on terror were "heavy-handed intrusions of privacy" that victimized "innocent Americans, particularly Muslims...." The Post (on April 15, 2002) described the Patriot Act as an "assault on the Constitution," and it attacked the Justice Department for trying "to avoid constitutional checks and balances."

In another editorial (Dec. 26, 2002), the Post attacked other provisions in the Patriot Act on the same premise. "Conservatives and liberals fear heavy-handed intrusions of privacy and worse abuses from the unprecedented surveillance powers now at the executive branch's discretion: home searches, medical-record inspections, electronic surveillance, secret detentions. There are well-founded concerns about the impact on innocent Americans, particularly Muslims...."

And railing against anti-espionage wiretapping, the editorial writers have said (Nov. 20, 2002): "The government might be able to catch more criminals if it can, in essence, disregard the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches. But along the way, the government also will spy on more innocent people."

Apparently, to the Palm Beach Post, Rush Limbaugh and his views are more dangerous than terrorists who seek to sneak into our country and unleash mass destruction. And, so, they cheer Krischer - who is up for reelection - and his tactics. It seems that at the Post's editorial page, hypocrisy in the defense of liberalism is no vice.

Mark R. Levin is president of the Landmark Legal Foundation.

[tcuoohjohn]

The point is the purchase of narcotics with a doctor's unduplicated perscription is medicine. Purchase of narcotics with mulitple overlapping prescriptions from multiple doctors is a third degree felony. The Florida Legislature, Jeb Bush ( he signed the law) and Charlie Crist ( he pushed the bill) say so.

Now if you wish to argue that the law doesn't apply to Rush due to some ideological or special circumstance then so be it..

[Lucky Dog]

Why should Rush be the exception?

This is the very question I posed.

Florida has prosecuted this crime 182 times in Florida.

Yes, but apparently this was proscuted only once before in this particular county. Additionally, it would appear that there are no other cases of a similar sort pending in this county.

If you do mind me saying so, given the population of this county, the statistics (one case) in this situation strain credulity.

[tcuoohjohn]

The Law is state statute not a county ordinance. If your argument is because this county has been laggard in prosecution of doctor shopping violations compared to other counties eg..Dade, Pinellas, or Orange Counties thus Rush should not be prosecuted under the theory of " Low prosecution indemnity" well..that's a mighty thin argument you must admit.

[tcuoohjohn]

A search warrant doesn't require " prior notice". In fact I can't imagine where or when ' prior notice' would ever be practiced in serving a warrant.

" Dear Jose , The Drug Dealer. Please be advised that we intend to search your building on 914 Seaspray Avenue for narcotics on April 16th, 2004 at 4:00 PM."

Not gonna happen.

[Lucky Dog]

...thus Rush should not be prosecuted under the theory of " Low prosecution indemnity" well..that's a mighty thin argument you must admit.

On the contrary, this is exactly my point when it is combined with the apparent selectivity of the prosecutor based upon the politics of the situation.

[safeasthebanks]

Give it up, Poodle. Tcuoohjohn's ignoring of my exact same point shows that he knows he's beaten on this point (search warrant vs. subpoena) and simply is trying to close his eyes and make it go away.

Or maybe he just can't understand it.

Either way, don't waste any more of your time!

[Poodlebrain]

That's exactly the point. The medical records were not sought in connection with drug dealing charges. They were sought to investigate doctor shopping charges. When Florida enacted the crime of doctor shopping they enacted a requirement for a subpoena to be issued to gain acces to medical records, which could be challenged by the target, given the sensitivity of medical records.

The ability to challenge the subpoena, or just as importantly limit its scope to relevant information, was denied to Limbaugh and his attorney.

[safeasthebanks]

"When Florida enacted the crime of doctor shopping they enacted a requirement for a subpoena to be issued to gain acces to medical records, which could be challenged by the target, given the sensitivity of medical records."

Sounds like case closed to me! Kirshner (and the judge he rode in on) are scum.

[gitmo]

Purchase of narcotics with mulitple overlapping prescriptions from multiple doctors is a third degree felony. The Florida Legislature, Jeb Bush ( he signed the law) and Charlie Crist ( he pushed the bill) say so.

Untrue. Even in Florida. There are other circumstances that must also be true.

[gatorbait]

Our society is set up such that it's awfully hard to be an addict without offending some of our laws along the way. ;-)

Well, think, this might be something beyond mere addiction prosecution. I know, every addict in your neighborhood has the State's attorney bust into his or her doctors' offices, have his or her medical records bandied about on the internet. You're right , how could I be so blind? How could I not see that the Press, dying to score points against his brother though him, would not be a factor? Oh the humanity of my failing. Yes, we see Jeb will have to pardon Rush because that will play so well in the living rooms of the vast stupids out there who have no idea who Rush is except a from their local and national meat puppets. We know he 'll do it because the DNC, who give passes to ever dope dealing murderer they can, will see this and understand,acting with taste and discretion. What alternative universe are we discussing here?

[Scenic Sounds]

What alternative universe are we discussing here?

Well, there's a lesson in here for all of us - once we start getting all hopped up on dope, very strange things can happen to us!! He's probably very fortunate to have survived what must now seem to him to have been a long, horrible nightmare.

It's not unusual for the target of an investigation to honestly feel like they're being unfairly singled out and picked on for improper reasons. From what I've seen so far, this investigation is not likely to lead to any really serious charges. At least, I hope not. ;-)

[lewislynn]

(never thought I'd be your cheerleader on anything, but you're right on the money on this!)

Thanks, there's no reason we can't disagree on some things and still be civil...

[holdonnow]

What? I guess you've not been keeping up with this case, although you pretend to have all the answers. You continue to repeat yourself. So, for the benefit of others, the SA did, in fact, get a judge to issue a search warrant. Therefore, according to this kook, the SA is in the clear. But he won't discuss the differences between search warrants and subpoenas, the fact that there's a Florida constitutional issue re privacy, that the SA splashed Rush's prescription list on a public website while claiming to protect his privacy rights, and that the SA did, in fact, manufacture a document claiming it had permission to release confidential attorney communications -- which was a flat out lie. So, this guy has no credibility because he continues to dissemble about the facts, the case, and the SA's conduct.

[holdonnow]

What specific document is Krischer alleged to have leaked. You really should study the subject a little more before condemning everyone for not knowing what they're talking about.

http://www.landmarklegal.org/tickerstory.cfm?webpage_id=572

[holdonnow]

If you have evidence of doctor shopping, let's see it. Better yet, let's see it in the form of a bill of particulars, better known as an indictment. And, what of the money laundering and drug ring? You cherry pick information leaked by the prosecutor, and yet you have nothing.

[holdonnow]

Well, it's good to know Krischer follows the law. Oops ... what happened here? I know it's a little long, but a man of your deep intelligence should be able to get through it and, perhaps, comment for the rest of us:

Copyright 1995 Palm Beach Newspaper, Inc.
Palm Beach Post (Florida)

August 30, 1995, Wednesday, FINAL EDITION

SECTION: A SECTION, Pg. 1A

LENGTH: 1987 words

HEADLINE: PALM BEACH LAWYER'S DUI CASE SHOWS THAT JUSTICE CAN BE SWIFT

BYLINE: VAL ELLICOTT

DATELINE: WEST PALM BEACH

BODY:

Charges of drunken driving and drug possession against Palm Beach lawyer Paul Rampell were dropped so quickly this month that the case was over before police had even talked to prosecutors about it. Measured against the standard time frame for criminal cases, even those with obvious flaws, the plea deal Rampell's lawyers negotiated was consummated with remarkable speed. His case is an example of just how fast the criminal justice system can act when prodded by well-connected attorneys.

On Aug. 9, four days after Palm Beach police arrested Rampell and charged him with drunken driving and possession of Valium, marijuana and rolling papers, attorney Scott Richardson faxed prosecutor Ted Booras the entire police file in the case.
That same day, Richardson and attorney Richard Lubin negotiated a plea deal with Booras, scrambled to find an available judge and got the plea approved in court, a sequence that typically would unfold over a period of weeks, or even months.
''What these guys did was put their entire case together before I'd had even a chance to look at it,'' Booras said. ''That's extremely unusual, especially in a DUI case.''
The result was a guilty plea to reckless driving from Rampell, who counts Donald Trump among his clients. Booras said the plea was based on weaknesses in the police department's case.
''I have to charge based on likelihood of success,'' Booras said Monday. ''Based on everything, I didn't think I had that.''
But the trusting relationship between Rampell's attorneys and prosecutors also played a role. When Lubin and Richardson told Booras they had witnesses who would say Rampell, 39, was sober shortly before his arrest, Booras took them at their word.
''I know Richard Lubin, and I know Scott Richardson,'' Booras said. ''I've worked with them for 10 years, and they've never lied to me.''
Rampell was driving slowly and erratically when Palm Beach police officer Michael Lynch pulled him over at the corner of Via Linda and North County Road at 1:43 a.m. on Aug. 5, according to Lynch's arrest report. Rampell stumbled when he got out of his car, fell against the side of his 1990 Mercedes and smelled of alcohol, the report said.
''His speech was very garbled and slurred,'' Lynch wrote.
He said Rampell admitted having had too much to drink, lost his balance when he tried to walk heel to toe and could not touch the tip of his nose with his finger. Lynch's report notes that Rampell recited the alphabet ''satisfactorily.''

Police search car

According to police reports, Lynch arrested Rampell on DUI charges, and he and police officer Kirk Blouin then searched Rampell's car. Blouin said in his report that he saw what he thought were traces of marijuana on the driver's side door armrest.
Inside the car, police found Valium and a briefcase that contained an envelope marked ''attorney-client information, privileged and confidential.'' Inside the envelope the police officers found marijuana and rolling papers.
Lynch noted that Rampell refused to take a Breathalyzer test and made comments that bordered on attempted bribery.
''Rampell kept name-dropping and telling me Joe Terlizzese (Palm Beach's police chief) would get him off, because we were making a huge mistake,'' Lynch wrote. ''Rampell stated on several occasions he would do whatever it took to not arrest him.''
But in a phone interview Monday, Rampell said Lynch was unreasonably hostile and seemed intent on charging him with a crime.
''This is a story of misconduct by one individual police officer and a vigorous response by a relatively able victim,'' Rampell said.
Palm Beach police declined to comment about the case.

Rampell denies charges

Rampell denied being intoxicated and said he spelled his name backward and recited his home and office phone numbers, date of birth and Social Security number for Lynch without a problem. Any problems with the motion tests were because Lynch wasn't clear in explaining the test or misstated the results, he said.
Rampell also denied there were traces of marijuana in the armrest of his car and labeled the near-bribery allegation ''an absolute absurdity.''
''I asked the police officers to call Police Chief Terlizzese or Maj. Frank Croft and they would confirm that I'm not some sort of a criminal,'' Rampell said. ''That is the only thing I asked them to do.''
He said Lynch refused to allow him to obtain the prescription for the Valium from his home, only a few blocks from where he was arrested. Rampell also said Monday that he told Lynch he would agree to submit to a Breathalyzer exam as long as someone other than Lynch administered it.
Rampell and his attorneys say the marijuana charge was improper because, they said, police searched his car before they arrested him on the DUI charge.
They also say Lynch incorrectly reported that Rampell admitted he had been drinking at a party at the Reef Condominium on Palm Beach before his arrest.

Friend backs up story

Angus Stewart, a professor at the London School of Economics who attended a football game with Rampell on Aug. 4, said in an affidavit that Rampell drank two beers during the first half of the game. Afterward, Rampell drove Stewart and his sons back to the condominium, where he dropped them off around midnight, Stewart said. He said Rampell never went inside the condominium.
''I was with Paul the entire evening and in no way was Paul impaired nor did he exhibit any signs of intoxication,'' Stewart said in the Aug. 15 affidavit.
Rampell said that after dropping off the Stewarts he stopped at his office on Palm Beach to make changes to a book he is writing on trusts and estates, then began driving home. He was arrested about an hour and forty minutes after he dropped off the Stewarts.
A videotape police made of Rampell shortly after the arrest is ambiguous on the question of impairment. On the tape, Rampell seems to have trouble speaking but has no difficulty standing. Rampell said he has a slight speech impediment and is a chronic insomniac. He attributed any odd behavior to fatigue and nervousness.
At the Palm Beach County Jail, where he was released about 15 hours after his arrest, Rampell telephoned Richardson, an old friend, and asked him to handle the case. The next day, Rampell said, he called a second attorney, David Roth, but later decided to hire Lubin instead because Roth's schedule was too crowded.

Wedding inspired speed

Lubin said Monday that he was strongly motivated to move quickly on Rampell's case because he planned to leave town on Aug. 10 to be married the following week to Kathy Kazen, who runs a public relations firm in West Palm Beach.
Lubin also wanted to make sure the account of Rampell's arrest in the next semiweekly edition of The Palm Beach Daily News included more than just the police version of events.
''I was interested in haste,'' Lubin said. ''I was interested in pushing this thing and getting it settled as quickly as I could. I was a pain in the neck.''
Rampell obtained the complete record of his arrest from the Palm Beach Police Department on Aug. 7, a Monday, and sent it to Richardson. By Aug. 9, Richardson had faxed Booras the file - which consisted of the same material the police normally would have delivered to Booras about a week later.
Richardson followed up with a phone call to Booras and suggested the case could be settled with a plea to reckless driving. After reviewing the police reports, Booras called Lubin back and agreed.

Driver license suspended

A few hours later, Rampell and Lubin appeared before County Judge Robert Schwartz to conclude the plea. Rampell agreed to pay $ 300 in court costs and will lose his driver license for at least 90 days for refusing to take the breath test.
In a typical DUI case, police would take about a week to send arrest reports and supporting information to prosecutors, Booras said. A few days after that, prosecutors would review the files and decide what charges, if any, to file.
''Ninety-nine percent of the time, the only information we have is that provided by law enforcement,'' Booras said.
In Rampell's case, the plea was a done deal before police had even sent their file to Booras.
Booras said he called Lynch Aug. 9 to tell him in advance about the plea deal, but Lynch wasn't working.

Cases usually take longer

On Aug. 11, two days after the plea, Booras talked to a Palm Beach police captain who had called to ask what had happened with the case. Booras said the captain seemed ''a little annoyed'' with the plea and insisted on sending prosecutors the police file on the case even though it was then too late. The police case was received by the state attorney's office Aug. 11.
DUI defendants are usually arraigned within three weeks of their arrest. Three weeks after that they receive their first hearing before the judge assigned to preside over the case, Booras said.
After that, the case could be set for another hearing in four weeks or be set for trial within about five weeks, Booras said. Or it could be settled through a plea.
Booras, who heads the county court division of the state attorney's office, said his staff members resolve more than half their DUI cases through a plea at arraignment.
In Rampell's case, the possession of Valium charge, a felony, was dropped after Rampell's lawyers showed prosecutors his prescription.

Search questioned

Since the marijuana and rolling papers were inside an envelope marked ''attorney-client privilege,'' they couldn't be used in court, Booras said. He cited an appeals court ruling on a Broward County case. Rampell said the marijuana belongs to a client but declined to comment further.
Booras said Tuesday that he's not sure the police officers had legal authority to open Rampell's briefcase, but he is sure they didn't have authority to open the sealed envelope containing the marijuana unless a police dog first indicated there were drugs inside.
In addition, police never asked Rampell to submit a urine sample for a drug analysis, which meant the Valium and marijuana couldn't be used to support the DUI charge, Booras said.
''When I reviewed all this, my primary case was the DUI, and I'm looking at two real strong pieces of evidence that I was not going to be able to use,'' Booras said.
David Barnovitz at the Florida Bar confirmed the bar is investigating Rampell's case but declined to comment further.

A LOOK AT THE LAWYERS
Richard Lubin, a vice president of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers, is considered one of the top criminal defense attorneys in Palm Beach County. Lubin, 47, has successfully represented James Sullivan and Linda Cooney in murder trials and is WPEC-Channel 12's expert commentator on the O.J. Simpson trial.

Scott Richardson, a friend of Paul Rampell, is one of several criminal defense attorneys called on by the county's Police Benevolent Association to represent police officers, though that is a minority of his practice, which includes some civil work. In 1986, Richardson, 42, represented Barry Krischer - then a criminal defense attorney and now Palm Beach County's state attorney - during a bizarre hit-and-run case in which Krischer protected the identity of the driver.

Paul Rampell, 39, represented developer Donald Trump during Trump's successful bid to turn his Mar-a-Lago mansion on Palm Beach into a private club. It was Rampell's idea for Trump to give 'preservation easements' to the National Trust for Historic Preservation to guarantee the future of certain rooms and views not covered by the estate's official status as a town and national landmark. Rampell practices probate and trust law from an office on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach.

[holdonnow]

Let me refine this for you, so you don't have to work too hard to get the point about your law-and-order prosecutor Krisher. Krischer dropped charges in record time against Rampel. Rampel's friend had represented Krischer in another case. --

"Charges of drunken driving and drug possession against Palm Beach lawyer Paul Rampell were dropped so quickly this month that the case was over before police had even talked to prosecutors about it. Measured against the standard time frame for criminal cases, even those with obvious flaws, the plea deal Rampell's lawyers negotiated was consummated with remarkable speed. His case is an example of just how fast the criminal justice system can act when prodded by well-connected attorneys. ..."

"Scott Richardson, a friend of Paul Rampell, is one of several criminal defense attorneys called on by the county's Police Benevolent Association to represent police officers, though that is a minority of his practice, which includes some civil work. In 1986, Richardson, 42, represented Barry Krischer - then a criminal defense attorney and now Palm Beach County's state attorney - during a bizarre hit-and-run case in which Krischer protected the identity of the driver. ..."

[gatorbait]

From what I've seen so far, this investigation is not likely to lead to any really serious charges. At least, I hope not. ;-)

I'm with you there, man

[RS]

"Krischer's office has leaked false stories to the news media charging Rush with money laundering, with being part of a drug ring, and now, with doctor-shopping."

Could anyone please explain how you "leak" a false story ?

You could plant one, or mislead someone, but just how do you "leak" one ?

.... and just where did any of these stories say Rush was charged ?

[spacewarp]

Because, despite the rampant liberalism, South Florida is a beautiful place to be. I'm from Florida, and spent most of my youth in Deerfield Beach, which is a few miles south of PB. If my wife said yes, I'd be packing the family to move back tomorrow.

Paul