COURT RULES AGAINST LIMBAUGH ON RECORDS

The talk-show host plans to appeal the decision on the seizure of his
medical data.

WEST PALM BEACH -- For months, Rush Limbaugh and his lawyers argued
vigorously that Limbaugh's privacy rights had been violated when local
prosecutors seized his medical records.

An appeals court quietly ruled Wednesday that they were
wrong.

In a 2-1 written opinion, justices of the 4th District Court of Appeal
ruled that investigators' use of a search warrant for medical records
was proper. The state's right to seize the records is not limited by a
patient's right to privacy, Chief Justice Gary Farmer wrote for the
court.

The decision pushed the investigation of the conservative talk-show
king back into the headlines, but Limbaugh, 53, plans a series of appeals.

At the beginning of his radio show Wednesday, Limbaugh put a positive
spin on what appeared to be a big loss.

"There is no disappointment or glee or exhilaration. It is just the
next phase of this whole process. . . . In the strict sense, you'd
have to say the state has won this round. This is not yet a victory
for the state. We will continue to fight this as we have fought it all
the way," he said.

Limbaugh keyed on a dissent by Judge Melanie May, who wrote that her
fellow justices had their "eyes wide shut" in regard to the right of
privacy with a person's medical records.

Limbaugh, who has admitted he became addicted to painkillers, has not
been charged with a crime. He is under investigation for alleged
doctor-shopping, or seeking duplicate prescriptions from multiple
doctors. He denied the allegations on the air, saying prosecutors were
on a "fishing expedition."

Limbaugh has repeatedly flogged State Attorney Barry Krischer on the
airwaves. Krischer answered Wednesday in a prepared statement.

"This office did not violate any of Mr. Limbaugh's rights,
constitutional or statutory, but to the contrary acted in accord with
Florida law. . . . Mr. Limbaugh's rights have been and will continue
to be scrupulously protected, as are the rights of all individuals
investigated by my office," he said.

Krischer declined further comment, citing the ongoing
investigation.

Limbaugh's attorney, Roy Black, held a news conference later in the
afternoon at a private club overlooking Miami's Biscayne Bay. Black
scoffed at Krischer's use of the word "scrupulously."

It's hardly scrupulous when armed officers enter a doctor's office and
seize records in plain view of patients, Black said.

Black said the judges got it wrong. He said he would file another
appeal with that court, then possibly with the Florida Supreme Court.

Prosecutors seized all records, not just those pertaining to
painkiller prescriptions, Black said. He said some of the records
concern medical procedures that would be highly embarrassing if
revealed publicly.

"He would be hearing about it for the next 10 years," Black
said.

The American Civil Liberties Union, hardly a political ally of
Limbaugh's, joined the case, arguing for special notification to
patients if their medical records are going to be taken. The ACLU said
Wednesday it would continue to join with Limbaugh in his appeals.

"Rush Limbaugh's celebrity status is secondary to the fundamental
privacy issues that arise in this case," said Randall Marshall, legal
director of the ACLU of Florida. "What is at stake here is the medical
privacy of millions of people in Florida and the need to protect
people against unnecessary government intrusion into their medical
records."

The case is believed to be the first exact test of medical records vs.
search warrants. Limbaugh argued that prosecutors should have notified
him with a subpoena, the most commonly used method. Prosecutors said
they do not have to tell suspects they are about to seize evidence.

Wednesday's decision is not expected to spawn a flurry of seizures by
search warrant. The appeals are expected to delay the courts'
resolution of the issue for months.

Meanwhile, the records will continue to be sealed and stored in a
clerk's evidence room, out of reach of either side.

Limbaugh's drug battle became national news a year ago after The
National Enquirer published a story quoting his former housekeeper,
Wilma Cline, as saying she provided Limbaugh with thousands of pain
pills over a four-year period. Cline and her husband had told local
prosecutors the same story.

Soon afterward, Limbaugh went on his radio show, announced he was
addicted to prescription painkillers and entered a 30-day treatment
program. He returned to his show on Nov. 17, 2003.

A week later, Krischer's office began taking his medical records from
three doctors with offices in West Palm Beach and Jupiter and one in
Los Angeles. The evidence prosecutors showed a judge to obtain the
search warrants were records from only one pharmacy.

The records showed Limbaugh had received more than 1,900 painkillers
from March through September.

At the request of The Palm Beach Post, lawyer and pharmacist Randy
Berman reviewed the prescription records prosecutors used to get their
search warrants. Berman was a longtime assistant public defender. He
has been qualified by the federal court as an expert witness in
pharmaceutical matters.

The prescription list documents large amounts of commonly abused
painkillers, Berman said. But the vast majority of the prescriptions
were written by one doctor.

"It's the actions of an addict, not a doctor-shopper," Berman said.
"Either he was stockpiling or really taking too much."

One stark example: Limbaugh received 334 tablets of Norco and Lorcet
during a one-week period beginning in May 2003, records show. One
doctor prescribed 304 of the tablets.

Berman said he thought the larger question in the Limbaugh case is the
actions of the doctor.

"If he's writing all this stuff, he should be held accountable for
facilitating this," Berman said. "It's either pharmacist abuse or
doctor abuse or drug abuse. But it's not doctor-shopping."

Black said Wednesday that two of the doctors from whom Limbaugh sought
prescriptions were partners in a practice. It is the "height of
absurdity" to allege doctor-shopping, Black said, and shows how little
research and investigation went into the case.

Limbaugh still receives outpatient follow-up treatment for his
addiction, Black said.

In June, the news spread that Limbaugh and his third wife, Marta, were
divorcing. The Palm Beach resident since has been linked to CNN anchor
Daryn Kagan.

Kagan was on the air Wednesday morning before news broke of the
appellate decision. After a commercial, she was off the air. A CNN
spokeswoman said the move was made to allow another anchor to report
the Limbaugh story.