RUSH'S DAYS IN COURT OVER FOR NOW

T he Florida Supreme Court disappointed a lot of people Thursday when the
justices, by a 4-3 vote, declined to hear Rush Limbaugh's appeal of a
lower-court decision allowing the seizure of his medical records.

The radio talk show host's legal troubles have made front-page news for
more than a year. Defenders of Limbaugh's legal argument - not all of them
his ditto-head faithful - believe the investigation into his prescription
drug habit has as much to do with politics and celebrity as justice.

Last October a panel of judges on the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled
2-1 that prosecutors could legally seize Limbaugh's medical records without
notifying him and giving him the chance to object.

Limbaugh, who has admitted an addiction to painkillers, argued his privacy
rights outweigh prosecutors' power to take his medical records without
notice and urged the Supreme Court to take his case.

Limbaugh makes a powerful point. Medical records are special. Before the
government can seize them wholesale, the patient should be given the chance
to argue otherwise.

But that's not the way it is in the 4th District. We hope other courts
don't follow the judges' lead.