Did Rush Limbaugh Get Off Easy in OxyContin Case?
By Rebecca Riddick 05-03-2006 While critics say conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh got off easy in his deal last week with Palm Beach County prosecutors to avoid drug charges, some legal experts say the settlement was a fair one for a first-time drug offender. But other experts say Limbaugh, 55, avoided prosecution as a result of an aggressive, high-priced legal fight by his attorney, Roy Black of Miami. Black challenged prosecutors’ effort to obtain Limbaugh’s medical records and took that fight all the way to the Florida Supreme Court. On Friday, attorneys for Limbaugh announced that their client reached an agreement with the office of Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer that will spare him jail time, as long as he completes 18 months of drug treatment. He surrendered Friday at the Palm Beach County jail on a warrant formally charging that he withheld information from a medical practitioner. That charge is known as doctor shopping and is a third-degree felony
