WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Prosecutors who want to review Rush Limbaugh’s medical records argued in court papers that privacy rights shouldn’t be used to hide criminal wrongdoing.
Seizing the conservative radio commentator’s medical records in their investigation of his prescription drug use didn’t violate his constitutional or privacy rights, Palm Beach County prosecutors said in documents filed Monday.
Limbaugh’s lawyers are asking the 4th District Court of Appeal to bar prosecutors from using the records seized in November. Limbaugh is under investigation for possible violations of the state’s ”doctor shopping” law, which prohibits someone from secretly obtaining overlapping prescriptions from different doctors.
Limbaugh, 53, hasn’t been charged with any crime. In October, he told radio listeners he was addicted to painkillers and was entering a monthlong rehabilitation program.
His lawyer, Roy Black, had no comment on the filing. He contends prosecutors should have followed a procedure in state law that requires them to notify someone with a subpoena before they can obtain the records rather than using a search warrant. The notification is designed to give a person a chance to contest it in court.
Assistant State Attorney James Martz argued that Limbaugh’s records were seized with a search warrant because investigators feared evidence would be altered or destroyed.