Free Republic

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...

PUNK'D: Ashton Kutcher victim suit headed to trial JANUARY 23--Plea negotiations between Rush Limbaugh and Florida prosecutors stalled last month when government officials insisted that the radio host cop to a felony, rejecting a defense suggestion that Limbaugh simply enter a pretrial diversion program and "continue to receive treatment for his addiction." In an exchange of letters (copies of which you'll find below), Roy Black, Limbaugh's attorney, and prosecutor James Martz offered starkly different versions of the punishment Limbaugh, 53, should receive were he to admit that he engaged in "doctor shopping" to score prescription painkillers and other drugs. In...

Palm Beach County prosecutors rejected an overture last month from Rush Limbaugh's attorneys that would have allowed the conservative commentator to enter drug rehabilitation rather than face criminal charges for prescription drug abuse. Prosecutors say they think they have evidence that Limbaugh committed at least 10 felonies by illegally obtaining overlapping drug prescriptions, according to documents released to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Thursday.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Prosecutors rejected a proposed deal offered by Rush Limbaugh's attorney that would have seen the radio commentator enter a court-sponsored drug intervention program rather than face charges, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported today. Palm Beach County prosecutors wanted Limbaugh to plead guilty to one felony charge of "doctor shopping," a third-degree felony. Limbaugh would have received three years' probation, undergone a drug treatment program and been subject to random drug testing, according to records obtained by the newspaper through a public records request. Limbaugh has not been arrested and no charges have been filed. In...

"Scarborough Country" Thursday, 1-15-04, 10:00 to 10:30pm EDT. Transcribed by me from my personal audiotape: Host: Joe Scarborough: "[Garbled] Rush Limbaugh's attorney, Roy Black, joins us for his first primetime interview on Rush's legal battle. Roy is also an NBC analyst. Thanks for being here, Roy." Guest: Attorney, Roy Black: "That's my pleasure, Joe." Scarborough: "I want to begin, now we've heard over the last couple of months that Rush Limbaugh was involved in a drug ring, he was involved in laundering money, he's been doctor shopping, buying boxes of pills from his maid in a parking lot, and on...

Sportscasters Marv Albert and Mike Fratello were injured early Thursday when their limousine hit a stalled truck, police said. Both Fratello, 55, and Albert, 60, sustained facial lacerations, and Albert sustained a concussion, state police spokesman Julian Castellanos said. The southbound limousine hit a disabled Dunkin Donuts truck on Interstate 295 in Hamilton Township, about five miles east of Trenton. The accident happened shortly before 3 a.m. The men were being held for observation at Helene Fuld Medical Center in Trenton. The limousine's driver, Michael Breges, sustained a broken pelvic bone and was also taken to that hospital, Castellanos said....