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General discussion

Just heard on the news........

Apr 28, 2006 10:22AM PDT

Rush Limbaugh arrested again for Doctor shopping and too many prescriptions
What an idiot!!!

Discussion is locked

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You may be hearing them ...
Apr 29, 2006 5:06AM PDT

... but you obviously don't listen. This has nothing to do with being a darling of anyone. I think Rush is a little too full of himself for his own good, but he does bring valuable information to the public that heretofore went underreported or unreported entirely.

He admitted NOTHING. His plea was NOT GUILTY. This wasn't a plea bargain, it was an agreement with the prosecutor, nothing more, nothing less. Now that DA can go about prosecuting real criminals.

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a plead and bail...
Apr 29, 2006 5:14AM PDT

means prosecution is pending... and will continue to be pending as motion after motion drags the hearing out ad infinitum. A good defense lawyer is a wonder at tying up the system.

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I was wrong
Apr 29, 2006 6:18AM PDT

there will be no further prosecution.... IF....

Rush complete 18 more months of drug treatment successfully and contributes the $30,000.

Under this agreement he was ALLOWED to plead ''not guilty'' thus avoiding any conviction charge on his record thus saving face.

One bad pee test and the charges come back. In essence he was allowed to cut a deal with the prosecutors office. Essentially the same deal many celebs get on their first major run in with drug charges.

I saw this often in the juvenal system. A lot of kids I worked with were considered ''status'' offenders under the juvenal law code but had felony charges hanging over their head. They had to successfully complete the program at the minimum security facility I worked at to avoid the further prosecution of the adult charges.

Rush bought a good lawyer and cut a deal Wink

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No, the DA got a good deal
Apr 29, 2006 7:12AM PDT

This was a loser case for Palm Beach and rather than THEM lose face and end the persecution, they did the deal. It is almost impossible to prove Dr. shopping without the defendant incriminating themselves. The state has unlimited resources and can drag this out for a long time. Mr. Black most likely would have won an acquittal but the trial would have been very ugly for Rush. So both sides cut their loses.

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Flashback ...
Apr 29, 2006 8:37AM PDT
Disclosure of Limbaugh plea talks draws rebuke

Limbaugh's attorneys wanted pretrial intervention, a sentencing program that would require Limbaugh to continue his drug treatment for an admitted addiction to painkillers.

Krischer's office countered that, in exchange for not unsealing his seized medical records, Limbaugh could plead to one count of "doctor shopping," a third-degree felony, and take three years' probation and community service.

"Mr. Limbaugh never considered accepting the state's ludicrous offer," Limbaugh attorney Roy Black said in statement. "He was not going to plea to something he did not do."


And in the end, they took what they could and figured they could rely on the liberal media to spin it against Rush.

From later in the article:

Black, in a Dec. 11 letter, proposed that Limbaugh be referred to the pretrial diversion program. In that scenario, Limbaugh's addiction treatment would be monitored and, if successful, the case would be stricken from his record.

"Mr. Krischer told me specifically that the office policy is not to prosecute addicts/users of illegal controlled substances, but to go after the doctors who prescribed them illegally and the pushers on the street," Black wrote.

A note on top of the letter says it is confidential as part of settlement discussions under Florida law and Florida rules of criminal procedure.

In a Dec. 15 letter, Krischer's office rejected the proposal, saying the pharmacy records would support more than 10 felony counts of doctor shopping against Limbaugh. Doctor shopping is when a patient dupes at least two doctors into prescribing excessive medication.


Ten, down to one, a not guilty plea and the diversion program. Maybe the DA screwed himself going after Rush in the politically motivated unethical manner in which he did.

Evie Happy
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Excuse me? He was 'ALLOWED' to plead "not guilty".
Apr 30, 2006 5:25AM PDT

Gee, I thought that the right to plead not guilty was a Constitutional right. I guess I missed that Constitutional amendment. I thought guilt still had to be proven in court.

What was 'ALLOWED' was a face saving gesture to the prosecutor.

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He's doing the prosecutor a favor?
Apr 30, 2006 5:34AM PDT

please... if he's innocent he should fight it. Your making him out to be a big old woose.

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Why? Would you fight it? You are really good at telling
Apr 30, 2006 12:33PM PDT

other folks what THEY should do with their time, money, and lives. He didn't admit to anything. What is there to fight?

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He didn't admit to anything
Apr 30, 2006 12:39PM PDT

And he didn't deny anything.

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What is there to fight?
Apr 30, 2006 12:47PM PDT
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He DID deny it JP
Apr 30, 2006 11:03PM PDT

What part of NOT GUILTY do you not understand?

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Everyone pleds not guilty
Apr 30, 2006 11:14PM PDT

This gives them time to plea to a lesser charge.

Don't you know that prisons are full of not guilty people?

Diana

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Not true Diana
Apr 30, 2006 11:19PM PDT

They plead GUILTY to a lesser charge and do so in front of a judge who accepts the plea. He plead NOT GUILTY.

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Re: Everyone pleds not guilty
Apr 30, 2006 11:26PM PDT

Aah! I see it now! In the new speak, when one pleads not guilty that means one is really guilty. So, what does the innocent person plead these days? Guilty? That would seem to be your new paradyme. Or, is it 'Not Guilty, Not Guilty, Not Guilty' spoken in really rapid succession?

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Re: NOT GUILTY
May 1, 2006 12:12AM PDT
"I am pleased to announce that the State Attorney's Office and Mr. Limbaugh have reached an agreement whereby a single count charge of doctor shopping filed today by the State Attorney will be dismissed in 18 months.

He did not plead NOT GUILTY, he reached and agreement. Doesn't the US have something called "No Contest"

In Canada, when a person pleads NOT GUILTY, they have a trial and the judge or judge and jury decide if the person is guilty or not guilty.

If a person pleads GUILTY they are sentenced, then and there, or the sentencing is delayed at the judge's discretion, (conditions may be set on the behaviour of the accused)

He didn't have a trial and must "Keep the peace and be of good behaviour" (as the judges say in Canada) for the next 18 months. If he is a good boy the charges will go away.
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It's helpful to read things in their entirety JP
May 1, 2006 12:17AM PDT

The actions taken today are as follows:

? The State Attorney has filed a single charge of doctor shopping with the Court. The charge is being held in abeyance under the terms of an agreement between the State and Mr. Limbaugh.

? Mr. Limbaugh has filed a plea of "Not Guilty" with the Court.

The formal agreement between Mr. Limbaugh and the State Attorney will be filed with the Court on Monday. The terms of the agreement are substantively as follows:

? Mr. Limbaugh will continue in treatment with the doctor he has seen for the past two and one half years.

? After Mr. Limbaugh completes an additional 18 months of treatment, the State Attorney has agreed to drop the charge.

? Mr. Limbaugh has agreed to make a $30,000 payment to the State of Florida to defray the public cost of the investigation.

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Re: Re: NOT GUILTY
May 1, 2006 1:05AM PDT

Perhaps it has escaped your notice. Mr. Limbaugh does not reside in, nor has he been investigated in, Canada. It's US law that's at work, not Canadian. In the US, one is presumed innocent until proven guilty. A US citizen is not required to prove their innocence. I realize that this is a foreign notion to a Canadian, but do try to pay attention to the small details.

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Re: innocent until proven guilty
May 1, 2006 2:21AM PDT

And when/if they have a trial, they are not found "innocent".

They are found "not guilty"

So, are they EVER "innocent"?

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"A US citizen is not required to prove their innocence..."
May 1, 2006 11:56PM PDT

....unless their last name is Clinton, of course.

Wink

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OK You're correct he plead NOT GUILTY
May 1, 2006 12:33AM PDT

He plead not guilty, then he plea bargained.

And, since I believe/know I'm not guilty, I will

? Mr. Limbaugh will continue in treatment with the doctor he has seen for the past two and one half years.

? After Mr. Limbaugh completes an additional 18 months of treatment, the State Attorney has agreed to drop the charge.

? Mr. Limbaugh has agreed to make a $30,000 payment to the State of Florida to defray the public cost of the investigation.


Did he go before a judge?

Did he have a trial?

Was he found guilty/not guilty?

Was the prosecutor acting as investigator, judge and jury?

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He didn't plea bargain ...
May 1, 2006 12:50AM PDT

... that involves pleading guilty to a lesser charge. He reached an agreement with a prosecutor. AFAIK, the formal court papers are being filed today. I don't know if he will have to "appear" or not. All of which is so much ado about nothing. He plead not guilty to one charge that will be dropped if he stays clean. QED.

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OK, so technically it's not a plea bargain...
May 1, 2006 11:55PM PDT

....but he still made a deal with the prosecution rather than go to trial.

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(NT) (NT) That's not what has happened.
Apr 29, 2006 6:38AM PDT
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A drug addict isn't a real criminal?
Apr 29, 2006 6:14AM PDT

I think what others are trying to say, Evie, is that Rush advocated jailtime rather than rehab for druggies (both for legal and illegal drugs) and it was a lack of character that got them there. Addiction was a lack of character rather than a disease.

Now that he was caught doing it, he believes that it's OK for him to get rehab and not jail.

I don't listen to him that much. Does he still rail about addicts and what they deserve to get?

Diana

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he's been very quiet on that issue Diana.
Apr 29, 2006 6:24AM PDT

we will see how that goes after he completes the remaining 18 months of rehab.

I have sympathy for the man on that issue and hope he makes it successfully through.

Same wishes for your boy. Happy

grim

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(NT) (NT) Why should he be vocal about it?
Apr 29, 2006 7:09AM PDT
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(NT) (NT) Was he convicted?????????
Apr 29, 2006 6:39AM PDT
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He never DID rail Diana ...
Apr 29, 2006 7:01AM PDT

... of the thousands upon thousands of hours of broadcasts his critics found less than a handful of statements regarding drugs and jailtime. Can you support that he advocated jailtime for those that become addicted to drugs they BEGIN taking legally? I don't THINK so!

Addiction is not a disease, IMO. And even now, I don't think Rush has ever considered it so. He's not boo hooed about how he is "sick" or blaming anyone or expecting anyone to pay for his treatment, etc.

Who pays for the treatment was, BTW, most of what he had an issue with addicts to begin with. Along with repeat offenders. Most addicts that do jail time do it for something OTHER than the addiction itself -- e.g. stealing money for drugs, forging prescriptions, driving under the influence, etc. I don't think I've ever heard Rush "rail" that small time first offenders guilty of only use and possession of small amounts of drugs be sent up the river.

Exactly what did he get caught doing again?

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(NT) (NT) He got caught being blackmailed
Apr 29, 2006 7:14AM PDT
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You do realize that Rush only admitted
Apr 29, 2006 7:17AM PDT

he had a problem after he was outed by his house keeper.

Evie, your acting like Rush Limbaugh is some noble yet tragic figure here who did the right thing by voluntarily announcing on air that he had a drug problem. He was forced to admit he was in trouble to spin the situation.

It's called damage control. Did you see his bizarre performance on monday night football? It was bound to come out sooner than later that he was a druggie.

The one positive about this is it may have saved his life. Otherwise he may have been partying with Jim Belushi and Chris Farley by now. Sad