Posted on 04/28/2006 3:11:12 PM PDT by kristinn
Edited on 04/28/2006 3:20:03 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Rush Limbaugh's attorney has issued a statement announcing a settlement of the Florida prosecutor's investigation into alleged doctor shopping by Rush Limbaugh.
Details have been read by Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. Basically, the charge of doctor shopping is dismissed, with some conditions.
In response to media and other inquiries, Roy Black, Rush Limbaugh's attorney, released the following statement today concerning a settlement agreement with the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office to end the investigation of Mr. Limbaugh:
"I am pleased to announce that the State Attorney's Office and Mr. Limbaugh have reached an agreement whereby a single count charge of doctor shopping filed today by the State Attorney will be dismissed in 18 months. As a primary condition of the dismissal, Mr. Limbaugh must continue to seek treatment from the doctor he has seen for the past two and one half years. This is the same doctor under whose care Mr. Limbaugh has remained free of his addiction without relapse.
"Mr. Limbaugh and I have maintained from the start that there was no doctor shopping, and we continue to hold this position. Accordingly, we filed today with the Court a plea of 'Not Guilty' to the charge filed by the State.
"As part of this agreement, Mr. Limbaugh also has agreed to make a $30,000 payment to the State of Florida to defray the public cost of the investigation. The agreement also provides that he must refrain from violating the law during this 18 months, must pay $30 per month for the cost of "supervision" and comply with other similar provisions of the agreement.
"Mr. Limbaugh had intended to remain in treatment. Thus, we believe the outcome for him personally will be much as if he had fought the charge and won."
The actions taken today are as follows:
-- The State Attorney has filed a single charge of doctor shopping with the Court. The charge is being held in abeyance under the terms of an agreement between the State and Mr. Limbaugh.
-- Mr. Limbaugh has filed a plea of "Not Guilty" with the Court.
The formal agreement between Mr. Limbaugh and the State Attorney will be filed with the Court on Monday. The terms of the agreement are substantively as follows:
-- Mr. Limbaugh will continue in treatment with the doctor he has seen for the past two and one half years.
-- After Mr. Limbaugh completes an additional 18 months of treatment, the State Attorney has agreed to drop the charge.
-- Mr. Limbaugh has agreed to make a $30,000 payment to the State of Florida to defray the public cost of the investigation.
Thank you. It's a daily struggle, but with God's help, and my Dr's help, I am living a fairly normal life.
I never such a thing as blamed spreading false information on you. What I blame on you is the fact that YOU took my statement out of context.
It probably saved his life.
Limbaugh, Prosecutors Can Declare Victory
By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer
Sat Apr 29, 2:31 PM ET
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - After three years under suspicion, Rush Limbaugh can finally put behind him the investigation that exposed the conservative commentator's own drug problems, thrusting him into the spotlight for the very things he derided in others.
None of it affected his ratings for a radio talk show that airs weekdays on nearly 600 stations and draws about 20 million listeners a week, Limbaugh spokesman Tony Knight said.
"This investigation didn't have any impact on his audience or on his advertising," Knight said Saturday, a day after defense attorneys announced a deal with prosecutors. A single prescription fraud charge will be dismissed after 18 months if Limbaugh stays drug free and doesn't violate any laws.
Prosecutors launched their investigation in 2003 after Limbaugh's housekeeper alleged he abused OxyContin and other painkillers. He entered a five-week rehabilitation program and blamed his addiction on severe back pain.
Prosecutors seized Limbaugh's medical records after learning that he received about 2,000 painkillers, prescribed by four doctors in six months.
The investigation was held up as prosecutors and Black battled in court over whether Limbaugh's constitutional right to privacy was violated when the records were seized, but the state prevailed.
Is the deal a victory for Limbaugh?
"This is a dismissal of the charge ... representing, in affect, a win for the defense," said Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. attorney and prominent Miami defense lawyer.
"Having said that, I wouldn't call this case a major defeat for the prosecution. They fought and won an important legal point in establishing that you can use a search warrant in Florida to secure medical records," Coffey added. "That's an important precedent for prosecutors around the state. This could be the rare situation where both sides made a deal and can walk away feeling some satisfaction."
The deal also allows Limbaugh "to save face," said Michael Seigel, a University of Florida law professor and former federal prosecutor.
"Given the high profile nature of this, it's an indication to me that if Rush Limbaugh thought he could win the case and be vindicated, he would go to trial," Seigel said. "He's not asking for his day in court."
The 55-year-old commentator surrendered Friday at the Palm Beach County jail on a warrant charging that in 2003, sought a prescription from a physician without revealing that he had received medications from another practitioner within 30 days. That charge, commonly referred to as doctor shopping, is a felony that could carry a sentence of up to 5 years in prison.
Limbaugh was booked, photographed and fingerprinted before being released on $3,000 bail. He has steadily maintained his innocence.
Black called the charge a formality to bring closure to the case, adding that Limbaugh has been drug free for 2 1/2 years.
A spokesman for the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, Mike Edmondson, said the deal is typical in such cases.
"It's really standard for someone who is dealing with their addiction," Edmondson said Saturday. "It's a diversion specifically for first time offenders with no prior criminal history or arrest."
Before his own problems became public, Limbaugh had often argued that drug crimes deserve punishment, once saying on his short-lived television show in 1995 that users "ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up."
The resolution of the case was applauded by Ethan Nadelmann, director of the nonprofit New York-based Drug Policy Alliance, which promotes treatment instead of incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders.
"Maybe this will soften up Rush Limbaugh a bit when he talks on the radio about the millions of other Americans who are suffering from drug problems," Nadelmann said.
On the scale of personal attacks, that's at the bottom.
There is no clique but if you want to be one of those conspiracy theorists, go right ahead.
Wow!! You guys must live on a different planet. I was objecting to the interpretation of the so-called "facts" by howlin. You make my earlier statement about certain freepers even more credible.
Amazing how much wrong information you can string together after following this for so long ...
How about a simple one ?
"Rush did not have a "handful of doctors"; he had THREE... two were partners in the clinic that was treating him for his back pain and both had access to his medical history and prescriptions each had written for him. " WRONG
Here you go ... count the doctors -
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/rushsearch5.html
In case that's too hard for you -
"Lawrence Deziel and Nathaniel Drourr of the Jupiter Outpatient Surgery Center, and Dr. John Murray of the Palm Beach Ear, Nose & Throat Association."
" Dr. Antonio De La Cruz of the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles."
http://www.royblack.com/notable_cases/rush/pet_writ_021704.html
Carolyn
You lost. Get over it.
I saw that post. It was number 490 in response to 448.
In 448 Howlin says, "My grandmother always said that if you have to tell somebody how important you, you're probably not."
Read that carefully, does it read right to you? Is there a word missing? Could the word be "are?" I noticed that when I read the post the first time.
Now, in post 490, Mthatcher replies,
Your grandmother needs better grammar.
I took that as Mthatcher also noticed the missing word and that was her way of commenting on that.
Personally, it appears to me that both you and Howlin suffered a lack of reading comprehension at that point in time. Either that, or you and/or she were trolling for a fight.
LOL -
The only winner here is Roy Black, who is no doubt hoping for Rush to break the terms of his diversion.
BTW - Here's that FL law regarding diversion -
http://www.flsenate.gov/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=CH0948/Sec08.HTM
Here's a FAQ on it -
http://www.jud11.flcourts.org/programs_and_services/drug_court.htm#dcq4
Apparently the facts are now that Rush had five doctors... but that begs the question of whether they all prescribed oxycontin for him... I find it hard to believe that the ear, nose and throat specialist would be prescribing pain pills for a back problem. On the other hand, between my cardiologist (with an office with 5 doctors) and my orthopedic specialist (2 doctors), and my Primary Care Physician, I could be said to have 8 doctors... and about 4 of them have renewed or written prescriptions for me for various problems. Not to mention that the HMO approach sends me to specialists for other issues... so my health is not maintained by just one doctor.
I have had a doctor increase the dosage of a pain killer prescribed by another doctor and write a new prescription covering the increased number of pills required... does that make me guilty of "doctor shopping"?
I assure you that had Rush wanted more pills, I could have sent him a bunch of the spam emails that I receive every day offering oxycontin and other pain relieving drugs from Canadian, Mexican, and other mail order pharmacies that, if you don't have a doctor, offer to have one of their "on call" or staff doctors write you a prescription after a phone "examination" for a small fee (or not so small). I have no doubt that Rush's Junk email box is as full of similar offers. Rush could easily have used one or more of these... and there is no evidence that he did.
Abuse of painkiller could cause sudden hearing loss Story menitons specifically that Rush was taking the drugs implicated (according to his housekeeper) and, amazingly, that the institute where he was treated was among the first to discover the link.
A true tragedy, I am happy to see his prosthetic ears are working so well for him.
Unfortunately you completely misunderstood what I wrote, which was in response to the original posting by 'Howlin' who asked why he copped a plea. I explained that he had "no{t} really" copped a plea because copping a plea means you plead guilty to a lesser charge, and in this case "his charge will be dropped and he will have no record or conviction".
My statement was not as clear as it could have been. But I most certainly did NOT in any way say he plead to a lesser charge. My final point in the posting was that the whole thing was to allow the PROSECUTOR to save face, which I elaborate on at length in my followup posting.
See my post 189.
I agree with you about the money .. but the money is just not an issue with me. The court costs are normal in these types of circumstances.
But .. I do believe the PB AG will be a lot more careful before he ever deals with Rush again. Dems are weenies and now they've found out Rush will not roll over for them.
You're correct - it allows the prosecutor to save face - but Rush is also removed from prosecution. It appears to me that it's a trade off .. that this was not done JUST TO HELP THE PROSECUTORS SAVE FACE.
In case that's too hard for you -THREE different organizations and FOUR doctors; hardly the 'scandal' (ala "drive-by media") you would like it to sound like ..."Lawrence Deziel and Nathaniel Drourr of the Jupiter Outpatient Surgery Center (1), and
Dr. John Murray of the Palm Beach Ear, Nose & Throat Association. (2)"
" Dr. Antonio De La Cruz of the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles. (3)"
WANNA bet the docs at (2) above had ACCESS to the same files?
Sorta extinguishes your case, doesn't it.
Before his own problems became public, Limbaugh had often argued that drug crimes deserve punishment, once saying on his short-lived television show in ...Short lived?
All because Rush didn't want to put up with the hassles it took to put together only twenty some odd minutes worth of video that was buried by a lot of stations in the wee hours of the morning!
I LOVED his audiences, too, BTW. Looked like the folks who used to attend the television shows in the 1950's - DRESSED UP, formal-looking and proper - and not wearing tourist 'togs' as seen on Letterman or Leno.
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