Rush's Friends at the ACLU
As Ron notes, the ACLU is defending Rush Limbaugh's privacy. Yesterday the organization's Florida chapter sought permission to file a friend-of-the-court brief faulting prosecutors for snatching Limbaugh's medical records without first giving him a chance to challenge the seizure, as required by state law.
Prosecutors say they need the records to investigate Limbaugh's narcotic purchases--a somewhat puzzling claim, inasmuch as they are unlikely to find a prescription authorizing him to buy pain pills from his maid. Still, they probably would have had little trouble obtaining the requisite subpoena even if they had followed the letter of the law. At issue, presumably, is not just whether Limbaugh used opioids for nonmedical purposes but whether his doctor prescribed them inappropriately.
The principle raised by the seizure of Limbaugh's records is still important, of course: Prosecutors have to obey the law even when it's inconvenient. And it is edifying for dittoheads to see Limbaugh, no fan of the ACLU, benefit from the group's dedication to that principle. But when it comes to the intimate details of what we put into our bodies, the law cannot provide much privacy protection as long as the government insists upon policing our bloodstreams.
That's a theme I'd like to hear Limbaugh discuss on his show.
