To: MeeknMing; pc93; cyn; CindyDawg; JohnHuang2; Ragtime Cowgirl; Pegita; Humidston; MarMema; All
Please make a mega ping for others to go to read:
BREAKING NEWS on www.terrisfight.org
New information indicates that JEB could issue an executive order to open an investigation.
One of the documents states:
To: Christa Calamas, Esq.
From: Brian Fahling, Esq.
Re: Authority of Governor Bush to Issue Executive Order
Date: October 16, 2003
Question 1: Does Governor Bush have authority to issue an executive order pursuant to Section 943.04(2)(a), Florida Statutes (2002) to order the Department of Criminal Justice Investigations and Forensic Science to conduct an investigation of an alleged violation of Section 782.08 Florida Statutes (assisted suicide)?
Question 2: Would such an order under the circumstances of the present case constitute an intrusion of the executive branch into, or create a conflict with, the lawful authority of the judicial branch?
DISCUSSION
I. Authority To Issue Executive Order
The governor of the State of Florida possesses authority under the Florida Constitution, Article IV, Section 1(a), to see that the laws are faithfully executed. Section 943.04 authorizes the governor, upon written order, to direct the Department of Criminal Justice Investigations and Forensic Science (Department) to investigate violations of any of the criminal laws of the state. In Thompson v. State, 342 So.2d 52 (Fla. 1976), the Florida Supreme Court upheld the authority given to the governor under Section 943.04, saying [t]he power to see that laws are faithfully executed, which is essentially what Chapter 943 is designed to achieve, derives from Article IV, Section 1(a) of the Florida Constitution. Thompson at 55.
The brief filed by the Governor in the Middle District of Florida sets forth significant reasons to believe that Section 782.02 is being violated because Terris right to life is violated by the state when the state, acting as her guardian, assumes that her wish to live without artificial sustenance is the same as a wish not to be fed at all. The state has an unqualified interest in life. Brief at 5. Moreover, Terri is being denied oral sustenance, which creates an unnecessary conflict with Florida Statutory law by implying that physicians may cooperate with a persons alleged express wish not to feed herself . . . . Id. at p. 6. A denial of Terris right to life under these circumstances, it appears, results in a violation of Section 782.08.
The laws of the State of Florida, then, as set forth in the Governors brief, are not being faithfully executed. The authority of the governor to issue an executive order in this case is consonant with his duty to see that the laws are faithfully executed.
II. An Executive Order Does Not Impugn the Authority of the Court
The trial court order merely authorized Terris husband to direct that oral sustenance be denied her. An executive order that orders an investigation in this matter, with the concomitant appropriate actions that would be taken if a violation of Section 782.08 is found, does nothing to impugn the authority of the court. The executive order would ultimately operate only upon the husbands decision which he is merely permitted to make. It is interference with private discretion, not with judicial authority. If the consequences of the husbands exercise of discretion are determined to result in the unlawful taking of life, it is entirely appropriate that such actions be interdicted by law enforcement at the direction of the governor.
45 posted on
10/16/2003 9:05:48 AM PDT by
JulieRNR21
(Take W-04....Across America!)
To: JulieRNR21; AAABEST; archi_tex; Argonaut; beckett; Beowulf; Big Guy and Rusty 99; BigWaveBetty; ...
See post #45. Excerpt:
BREAKING NEWS on http://www.terrisfight.org New information indicates that JEB could issue an executive order to open an investigation.
Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my Florida ping list!. . .don't be shy.
116 posted on
10/16/2003 10:59:26 AM PDT by
MeekOneGOP
(Check out the Texas Chicken D 'RATS!: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/keyword/Redistricting)
To: JulieRNR21
THANKS for the ping, Julie. Now I must read and catch up!
144 posted on
10/16/2003 12:00:54 PM PDT by
Humidston
(Do not remove this tag under penalty of law)
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