Posted on 02/14/2005 1:34:15 PM PST by rface
WEST PALM BEACH -- The prosecutor investigating whether Rush Limbaugh illegally purchased prescription painkillers told the Florida Supreme Court on Monday that investigators should be allowed to review the conservative radio commentator's medical records.
Assistant State Attorney James Martz said Limbaugh's argument that he should have been notified before the records were seized by investigators is equivalent to saying ``that law enforcement is never to be trusted.''
``Then search warrants should never be issued and law enforcement should never be permitted to investigate criminal activity for fear that they will abuse the power granted,'' Martz wrote in a brief filed with the Florida Supreme Court. ``Such reasoning would eviscerate law enforcement's ability to protect the public and enforce the law.''
Martz added that the 4th District Court of Appeal's ruling, which said Limbaugh's privacy rights were not violated when the records were seized in 2003, should be upheld.
``Privacy rights cannot operate as an impenetrable shield to conceal, camouflage, or secrete evidence of criminal wrongdoing,'' Martz wrote.
Limbaugh and his attorney, Roy Black, had no comment on Monday.
(Excerpt) Read more at sun-sentinel.com ...
By looking at records they had to legal authority to do?
Should have read 'By looking at records they had NO legal authority to do?'
What is your evidence that he has been hard on drug addicts. I have never heard or read anything from him which even discusses drug addiction. This is something the MSM has tried to portray to make Rush look bad, but I do not believe this has been an issue he has discussed much, if at all.
Yes, nuances such as the despicable practice of creating new law out of whole cloth to appease transient political pressures.
The far left is full behind this prosecutor's endeavors to skewer Rush. But there is still a Howard Dean's official papers when he was governor. There is still a seal of the files the House of Representatives put together for the impeachment of clinton.
There are a lot of claims about Rush's "intolerance." If you are so sure about this, you could readily recall an instance of such intolerance, no?
People imagine a lot of bad things about Rush. In reality, he only has harsh words for those that are themselves intolerant.
23 Sep 1993 "He says that, 'I know every expert in the world will disagree with me, but I don't buy into the disease part of drug abuse. The first time you reach for a substance you are making a choice. Every time you go back, you're making a personal choice. I feel very strongly about that.' What he's saying is, that if there's a line of cocaine here, I have to make the choice to go down and sniff it. And I don't know how -- how to do it, but if I was going to do it, I'd do it. If there were a gun here, it wouldn't fire itself. I've got to reach for it and -- and pull the trigger. And his point is, that we are rationalizing all this irresponsibility and all the choices people are making and we're blaming not them, but society for it. All these Hollywood celebrities say the reason they're weird and bizarre is because they were abused by their parents. So we're going to pay for that kind of rehab, too, and we shouldn't. It's not our responsibility."
9 Dec 1993 "If [Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders] wants to legalize drugs, send the people who want to do drugs to London and Zurich, and let's be rid of them." Rush Limbaugh, admitted drug addict, inexplicably still lives in America.
That has yet to be proved. The issue here is the seizure of the medical records. Law Enforcement officials are required to subpoena medical records under Florida Law, and they failed to follow it in this matter. As I posted, and others have posted, there is probably a good reason to require a subpoena where medical records are concerned. If a subpoena is issued, the person whose records are being sought has a chance to challenge the subpoena and have the records sealed until he has a court hearing. What happened with the Search Warrant is that the records were seized, and his medical records were leaked on the internet. That is disgusting! Plus, persons who had no legal right to the records went through them. While some of the records may indeed have shown suspicious drug usage, there may have been other records that the investigators had no possible right to view. The issue is the privacy of medical records, and the Law Enforcement officials in Florida blew it! I hope the Florida Supreme Court understands what happened and slaps them down.
Why is hiring Roy Black a mistake by Rush? As far as I can tell, he is doing an exemplary job dealing with the Florida Courts, and Rush has yet to be charged with a crime. Is there something he should have been doing that he is not doing now? Or did he do something he shouldn't have done?
Thank you. I was wondering.
16 Dec 1994 On his daily radio show, conservative pundit Rush Limbaugh declares: "We have alcoholics and drug addicts in our society, don't we? And what do we say about them? 'Well, they can't help it. Why, it's genetic. Why, they have a disease. Why, put one thimbleful of scotch in front of them and they can die.' We totally exempt them from any control over their lives, do we not? Some athlete will spend two years snorting lines of coke. 'He can't help it. You know, it's -- it's just -- it's not -- it's -- it's genetic. These people -- they're predisposed to having this addictive syndrome. They -- they can't help.' Yeah, like that line of cocaine just happened to march into the hotel, go up to the athlete's room and put itself right there in front of him on his blotter."
5 Oct 1995 "What this says to me is that too many whites are getting away with drug use. Too many whites are getting away with drug sales. Too many whites are getting away with trafficking in this stuff. The answer to this disparity is not to start letting people out of jail because we're not putting others in jail who are breaking the law. The answer is to go out and find the ones who are getting away with it, convict them and send them up the river, too."
Yep. You get a pass. As to whether you call youself a chic or babe, that's up to you. I'll stick with lady or ma'am. Will that do?
What do you know? You're just a partisan, cool aid drinking Republican, E? :)
Denote sarcasm for lurkers about to pounce.
I don't think that Rush's views on the nature of substance abuse oare out of line at all...but even if I did, I would not calssify that statement as being hard on drug users. It is a choice, ultimately, to use drugs, and a choice to stop using drugs. Addiction may be present, but each individual has the ability to make that choice, even if it is difficult for them.
I'm not certain that this makes it in any way irronic that Rush became addicted to them. Many addicts also happen to understand the nature of their addictions.
If you think they cannot hold those opinions, you don't know many recovering addicts.
I also don't think that his offhand statement about allowing those who would legalize drugs to move o0ut of the country is really relevant , either. Rush has never advocated the legalization of illegal drugs.
We all make mistakes, and in most cases, I think it is safe to say we don't disagree with the law. I think this is the situation with Rush.
I figured the dems would be the ones drinking kool-aid, Jim Jones style, after the last election.
Was he? Or was this the testimony from a witness with a long criminal history? Oh, wait....There hasn't been a trial or charges filed.
That sounds reasonable, but I am still sticking to ironic. Life is full of irony, I am not saying that I don't like Rush. He is an amiable guy, and I wish him the best.
Oh, you're so cruel! I'll have you know I don't drink cool aid. I drink Jack Daniels! :^)
And yet...No charges have been filed. I wonder why. Could it be the case is so weak they couldn't get a conviction? Or is it that no one in Florida history has been prosecuted for doctor shopping? Or is it that their chief testimony comes from someone, attempting to blackmail him, with a long criminal history?
I wonder was the ACLU there for Rush?
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