Paulus attorneys try again to knock down charges

Henry Culvyhouse, The Daily Independent, Ashland, Ky.
·2 min read

Sep. 13—ASHLAND — Attorneys for Dr. Richard Paulus are again attempting to have his charges thrown out, this time in light of a recent ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Paulus attorneys wrote in a motion filed Friday that the ruling in the case of Xiulu Ruan vs. United States has changed the way the prosecution must approach the case, invalidating how the case was handled the last go around.

According to the motion, prosecutors are seeking to try the case in the same manner, with the same expert witnesses but with a one or two days of additional testimony to address a review at King's Daughters Medical Center that wasn't presented at the first trial.

Paulus was convicted, acquitted, re-convicted, and then had his conviction overturned and has since been trying to have charges thrown out. He was accused by federal prosecutors of performing medically unnecessary stents in order to rip off Medicare and Medicaid.

According to the motion, the latest ruling from the High Court would mean that a doctor's medical judgement must take into account his or her state of mind, not just whether or not their actions aligned with objective medical standards.

While Ruan v. United States was dealt with a violation of the controlled substances act (the doctor was accused of prescribing drugs of medically illegitimate reasons) attorneys said the same logic applied — prosecutors have to prove Paulus knew the stents were medically unnecessary but did them anyways, according to the motion.

In the previous trial, court records show it came down a battle of the experts, with one expert doctor reviewing some of the cases and finding blockages were below the threshold necessary for a stent.

Under the legal landscape created by Ruan, defense attorneys argued going strictly by the numbers is not enough to support a prosecution.

Attorneys are asking for the case to be dismissed. A magistrate Monday gave federal prosecutors until Sept. 26 to respond to the motion.

(606) 326-2652 — henry@dailyindependent.com