Judge Bans Terri Schiavo's Parents From Legal Battle

NewsMax ^ | 11/5/03 | AP

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

A judge on Tuesday denied a bid by the parents of a severely brain-damaged woman to intervene in the legal battle over a hastily passed state law that empowered Gov. Jeb Bush to keep her alive. Terri Schiavo's husband is challenging the law that allowed Bush to order her feeding tube reinserted six days after the husband had it removed.

American Center for Law & Justice, founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, sought to intervene on behalf of Mrs. Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, who want the feeding continued.

Circuit Judge W. Douglas Baird rejected the motion but allowed the conservative law firm to file a friend-of-the-court brief. The firm issued a release calling the decision "unfortunate."

Michael Schiavo has been battling in court for years to carry out what he says is his wife's wish not to be kept alive artificially.

The Schindlers have said their daughter expressed no such wishes and is not in a permanent vegetative state, as a probate judge has declared. They say she is responsive and could improve with therapy.

Mrs. Schiavo suffered severe brain damage in 1990 when her heart temporarily stopped because of a chemical imbalance. Some doctors have said she has no hope for recovery from what they call a vegetative state.

George Felos, attorney for Schiavo, called Baird's decision "sensible" and said the woman's parents had no legal place in a constitutional argument.

Schiavo's lawyers contend "Terri's Law" violates the state Constitution by infringing on Mrs. Schiavo's right to privacy and the Constitution's provisions for separation of powers.

A hearing on the guardianship of Mrs. Schiavo is set for Wednesday afternoon before Circuit Judge George Greer.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Not a surprise.

[TommyDale]

Let's see ... the parents can be banned, but the ACLU can jump in on any issue it wants. What's wrong with this picture?

[Dante3]

A lot is wrong with this picture. I noticed they mentioned "conservative law firm." I can't recall seeing labels such as "radical" or "pro-death" put on those supporting the husband.

Also, there are indications Michael S. might have tried to kill Terri. In the Sunny von Bulow case, there was no such support for Klaus.

[a5478]

I would like to see a more in depth coverage on Fox News with all the facts presented. The major news agencies just accept Michael Schiavo's position on face value. They do not reiterate the motivations or facts in the case.

[CHUCKfromCAL]

I, for one, am getting very tired of the whole Terri soap opera. I hope we can reduce the effort we spend on this problem with no solution. The courts and the legislature have never been very good at resolving disputes between groups with different moral values.

[Future Useless Eater]

>>I would like to see a more in depth coverage on Fox News with all the facts presented. The major news agencies just accept Michael Schiavo's position...

Links to transcripts of all the recent FoxNews coverage,
and some other channels as well can be found HERE

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1015038/posts?page=791#791


By the way, related to THIS thread...
The Governor has slapped down THIS JUDGE, BIG TIME!

http://www.terrisfight.org/documents/govpetdismiss110503.pdf

...in a nutshell, the Gov. responded THIS Judge is out of order!
...This case is a STATE LAW case and has to be filed in Talahassee, NOT in THIS court.
...The Governor MUST be properly served.
...Governor must be given the legal number of days 45 to
respond.
...All supposed 'facts' from Greer's court are hearsay, and moot since
Gov. had no part in that case.
...New Discovery phase will have to occur.
...JURY TRIAL necessary to re-determine 'the facts' of this case.
...The judge errored to RULE OUT parents. That's for the
discovery phase in Talahassee to decide.


...so, the PARENTS are back IN... and its THIS JUDGE that is out!

[HiTech RedNeck]

Love it, love it, love it. If MS/GF wants to allege any "fact" from the Greer court, they must re-prove it in Leon. Judge Sanders Sauls, yoo-hoo!!

I see MS/GF running screaming to the SCOFLA at this point, to try to get them to force the case back to Pinellas. Let us pray the Kangies have the decency to refuse to hear it.

[kenth]

Your posts related to the matter do not indicate that you are merely a disinterested party. You have fallen squarely on the side of the husband. It's ludicrous that you're telling us that you're tired of hearing about the story in a thread about the story.

[fml]

Again with "conservative law firm " garbage.

[fml]

--I, for one, am getting very tired of the whole Terri soap opera.--

Yeah, so is her husband I would guess. Just kill the women and lets get on with our days. Right?

[syriacus]

Amazing!

Thanks for all your efforts in collecting the facts, reporting the facts, and keeping us "pinged" to the facts.

[syriacus]

Judge Sanders Sauls, yoo-hoo!!

Sauls went to the hospital three times a day to feed his former nanny while she was ill.

What a guy!!!

[cyn]

New Discovery phase will have to occur. ...JURY TRIAL necessary to re-determine 'the facts' of this case." --- really? dare I hope? esp considering all the odd turns we see this has taken through the years, each time denying Terri her freedom. I would love to see Terri home for the holidays with her family.

bingo, syriacus; thanks for reminder about Judge Sauls.

[tutstar]

ping to #7, otiginal do at http://www.terrisfight.org/documents/govpetdismiss110503.pdf

[tutstar]

sounds like a Felos argument....change the focus to "resolving disputes between groups with different moral values."
Felos took it from the basic 'right to life' to 'right to die'

I hope that your statement was made from lack of knowledge about the case.....there are laws being broken here notwithstanding the moral issues which are equally if not more important to some than the legal incongruencies.

And remember, noone makes you read a Terri thread 8^)

[syriacus]

I see MS/GF running screaming to the SCOFLA at this point

MS/GF sounds like some toxic food additive that causes fuzzy thinking.

[CHUCKfromCAL]

"I hope that your statement was made from lack of knowledge about the case"

You hope for to much. I have been following this case carefully because of a similar situation that occurred a few years ago in my family. I have been forced to form a strong opinion by real events - not just an intellectual exercise.

I am sorry to say that I suspect that Terri's family is no longer rational about Terri. They have been taken over by obsession. They have made the Husband and the Judge the villains and attribute motives and powers to them that do not exist (even though the husband appeared to be sort of a slime ball in his interview on Larry King.)

Terri needs to be treated with dignity - not as some circus sideshow to prove/disprove pro-life theories. If she truly is vegetative and her brain has been destroyed, as the courts have concluded, then I do not disagree with removing life support.

I pray every night that Terri be treated with dignity and be allowed to die with dignity.

[Graymatter]

>>I pray every night that Terri be treated with dignity and be allowed to die with dignity.

If you have been following this case as carefully as you say, you know Terri is not dying.
Her husband wants to put her down, by starvation.
Try these phrases for enhanced perspective---and accuracy:
"I pray every night that Terri will be put down."
"I pray that Terri will be treated with dignity and starved to death."

[Saundra Duffy]

I have been very disappointed with the coverage on FOX about Terri, especially O'Reilly. It's like they're ashamed to admit they're pro life or something. Anyway, thanks for the info. Much appreciated. Go, Terri!!