RUSH LIMBAUGH HAS RIGHTS TOO

At what point does a prosecutor's investigation of a possible crime cross
the line from legitimate inquiry to smear campaign? My interest in the
question is not entirely academic. I'm Rush Limbaugh's attorney, and as
anyone who has been following my client's situation is probably aware, the
local prosecutor (or state attorney, as we call them in Florida) has been
having a field day at Rush's expense ever since Rush announced last October
that he'd become dependent on prescription pain medication and was entering
a rehab clinic to deal with the problem.

Over the past six months, Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer
has: raided drugstores near Rush's home; seized his medical records without
going through the required process enacted by the Florida legislature to
protect medical privacy; leaked false information to the media that he was
about to plead guilty to a felony; threatened to make his medical records
public unless he pled guilty to a felony he didn't commit; released to the
media confidential letters regarding Rush's situation that he received from
my office; and falsely claimed that the Florida Bar and attorney general's
office approved of the release.

Normally, people with drug dependencies who acknowledge their problems and
seek treatment are lauded for their courage, not prosecuted. So am I wrong
to wonder if something is out of whack when the Palm Beach County State
Attorney pulls out all the stops in an effort to nail Rush, while giving
immunity to the traffickers who supposedly kept him supplied with
painkillers, and who, as a result of a deal with the prosecutor, were able
to make a six-figure killing selling their "story" to a tabloid?

There are lots of theories about why the prosecutor is doing what he's
doing (he's an elected Democrat, Rush is a big fish, etc.), none of which
matter. What does matter is that the prosecutorial abuse to which Rush is
being subjected has ramifications for every doctor and patient in Florida
- -- and throughout the U.S. As Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU
Florida Chapter stated recently, "The outcome of this case is going to
affect the privacy of everybody in the state of Florida." There is also
concern about prosecutors who use their office not to enforce law but to
pursue a personal agenda. Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who also happens to
be a doctor, put his finger on the problem last month, telling the House of
Representatives: "Under the guise of prosecuting the drug war, law
enforcement officials can rummage through patients' personal medical
records and, as may be the case with Mr. Limbaugh, use information
uncovered to settle personal or political scores."

Rush's situation should trouble everyone who believes in the principle of
equal treatment under the law. Even if you subscribe to the dubious notion
that public figures should be made an example of, contrast the way Rush's
case is being handled with treatment similarly afflicted celebrities have
received at the hands of law enforcement. Do you recall Ozzy Osbourne or
Elizabeth Taylor ever being singled out for criminal investigation after
they publicly acknowledged their drug dependencies? You don't, because they
weren't. Nor should they have been.

The improper seizure of Rush's medical records is now before an appeals
court. And the Florida Bar is conducting an inquiry into why a Krischer
deputy falsely claimed in a memo, initialed by Mr. Krischer himself, that
ethics experts at the Bar and in the state attorney general's office had
advised prosecutors that they had no choice but to make copies of our
confidential correspondence available to the press. The Bar and the
attorney general's office have publicly stated that they never gave this
advice to Mr. Krischer or his deputy.

Undeterred, Mr. Krischer and his staff, who have yet to charge Rush with
anything, continue to mutter darkly that Rush is a "suspect" for this or
that crime. First it was drug trafficking, then money laundering; most
recently, it's doctor shopping. For his part, Rush tries to get on with his
life. But he, and I, worry about the precedent that's being set in this
case. So should you.

Mr. Black is a lawyer in Florida.