JUDGE SEALS LIMBAUGH'S RECORDS FOR HIS APPEAL

WEST PALM BEACH -- A judge resealed Rush Limbaugh's medical records
Wednesday, giving the conservative radio commentator's attorneys time
to appeal his earlier decision allowing prosecutors to examine the
files for evidence Limbaugh illegally purchased painkillers.

Palm Beach Circuit Judge Jeffrey A. Winikoff ruled that the records
should remain sealed for 15 days while Limbaugh's attorneys pursue
their appeal to keep the records private. Winikoff had ruled Tuesday
that prosecutors could examine the records, but could not make them
public.

A spokesman for the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office did not
return a call for comment Wednesday, and it could not be determined
whether prosecutors had begun looking at the records.

Limbaugh's attorneys had argued that the seizure of the records from
doctors in Florida and California violated his privacy.

Investigators obtained the records last month after finding that
Limbaugh received more than 2,000 painkillers, prescribed by four
doctors, at a pharmacy near his Palm Beach mansion. They suspect
Limbaugh might have been "doctor shopping" -- looking for a doctor
willing to prescribe drugs illegally, or getting prescriptions for a
single drug from more than one doctor at the same time.

Prosecutors began investigating Limbaugh last year, after his former
maid told them she had been supplying him prescription painkillers for
years.

Limbaugh recently admitted his addiction, which he said stemmed from
severe back pain, and took a five-week leave from his afternoon radio
show to enter a rehabilitation program.

Limbaugh's attorney, Roy Black, has said the medical records will only
prove that Limbaugh suffered from a serious medical condition and was
prescribed painkillers legitimately.

"Mr. Limbaugh was not doctor shopping, and he should not have to
sacrifice his privacy to prove his innocence," Black said in a
statement Tuesday. Black and a spokesman for Limbaugh's radio show did
not return phone calls Wednesday.