Posted on 11/25/2003 6:40:21 PM PST by amdgmary
Schiavo asks Pinellas judge to rule without trial
Nov 25, 2003
TAMPA, Fla. A husband battling Gov. Jeb Bush over the fate of the man's severely brain damaged wife is asking a circuit court judge rule to on the case now, rather than go through the process of a trial, an attorney said Tuesday.
George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, also responded to the governor's defense of the new law which let him stop Terri Schiavo from dying, saying the explanation that government action was needed in the case has an "Orwellian ring."
Felos said a motion for summary judgment will be filed in Circuit Court in Clearwater asking Judge W. Douglas Baird to rule on Michael Schiavo's lawsuit against Bush without waiting for the case to go through the normal, lengthy judicial process.
Michael Schiavo is suing the governor over last month's hastily passed "Terri's Law" which let Bush intervene in the six-year long legal battle over the fate of Terri Schiavo, who has been in a persistent vegetative state since 1990. Michael Schiavo has said his wife never wanted to be kept alive artificially and had removed the feeding tube keeping her alive when the Legislature gave the governor the power to intervene and order the tube reinserted.
Michael Schiavo is challenging the constitutionality of the governor's actions, saying they are both a violation of his wife's right to privacy and the separation of powers.
Meanwhile, Bush's lawyers filed an appeal Tuesday to Baird's denial of a motion to dismiss Michael Schiavo's lawsuit. The appeal contends that the lawsuit is invalid because Bush had not been personally served and because it was not filed in Tallahassee where the governor is based.
Tuesday's filing argues that all orders entered by the trial court on the Schiavo matter are void, including the court's denial of the motion to dismiss.
Last week, the governor's attorneys filed legal motions asking that the lawsuit be put before a jury and that among the issues put before the panel would be whether Terri Schiavo had such end-of-life wishes at all. Her parents deny that she did, and Terri Schiavo left no written instructions.
Ken Connor, the Tampa attorney representing Bush, has said that before Baird can rule on whether Terri Schiavo's medical wishes are being infringed upon, her wishes first need to be established.
Earlier, a different circuit judge ruled she had not wanted to be kept alive artificially, basing his ruling on testimony about conversations Michael Schiavo, his brother and his sister-in-law said they had with her before she collapsed from a potassium imbalance and suffered brain damage.
George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, said the new motion would move the case along in the process that most legal experts predict will eventually lead to the Florida Supreme Court. His motion urges Baird to declare the new law unconstitutional.
"We don't need to have a trial, we don't need to have discovery," Felos said.
A spokesman for Bush said the governor's attorneys have yet to see the filing and were not able to comment on it. The governor's attorneys are arguing that the law does not infringe on Terri Schiavo's rights but adds extra protection by requiring the courts to appoint an independent guardian who will investigate the case and report to Bush. That investigation is currently ongoing.
Also Tuesday, in a reply to the governor's filings, Felos said the new law forced artificial hydration and nutrition on Terri Schiavo against her wishes.
"The statute robs patients of their right to refuse unwanted medical treatment," the court filings said.
"... When the state so egregiously tramples upon the fundamental rights of its citizens, as in this case, its use of nice sounding explanations such as 'added protection,' has an Orwellian ring."
Terri Schiavo is being cared for at a Pinellas Park hospice. The legal fight over her has drawn international attention and supporters led by her devoutly Catholic parents have declared Sunday as Terri Schindler day. Catholic congregations nationwide are being encouraged prayers for her and are marking her 40th birthday on Dec. 3.
The hell we don't you ghoulish sob.
Tuesday's filing argues that all orders entered by the trial court on the Schiavo matter are void, including the court's denial of the motion to dismiss.
It looks as if Jeb is fighting back.
What is "artificial hydration?"...Imitation Water?
Michael wants the state to kill his wife so he can get the money designated for Terri's therapy (that he refuses to let her have) and marry the woman he has been shacking up and fathering children with!.
An especially interesting comment given that I would think somewhat useful amounts of water could easily be given by unquestionably natural means if Michael weren't forbidding them. Or would soaking someone by artificial because nobody ever bathed or swam until the invention of plumbing? [nb: I don't know that the amount of water one could get by bathing or other such means would be sufficient to sustain life, but I would suspect it would substantially aleviate pain]
Let's face it, MS looks at any moisture delivered to Terri, by any and all means, as illegal. He's a sadist. That he's managed to torture her for years with the court's approval is perverse.
He's had her room temperature raised and lowered to make her as uncomfortable as possible. He was hoping to hasten her death before Greer even got around to ordering it!
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