ACLU raps Limbaugh records ruling

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida Wednesday criticized an appeals court ruling that police properly confiscated Rush Limbaugh's medical records.

The records were sought as part of a criminal investigation involving "doctor-shopping" for prescription pain-killers allegedly abused by the conservative radio commentator.

"Rush Limbaugh's celebrity status is secondary to the fundamental privacy issues that arise in this case," said ACLU of Florida Legal Director Randall Marshall. "What's at stake here is the medical privacy of millions of people in Florida and the need to protect people against unnecessary government intrusion into their medical records."

In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court ruled "the constitutional right of privacy in medical records is not implicated by the state's seizure and review of medical records under a valid search warrant without prior notice or hearing."

The ACLU earlier filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing that law enforcement officers violated state law by using the more intrusive search warrant process to seize Limbaugh's medical records.

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