Jeb is to see that the laws are faithfully executed:
The 2003 Florida Statutes
Title IV
EXECUTIVE BRANCH Chapter 16
ATTORNEY GENERAL View Entire Chapter
16.56 Office of Statewide Prosecution.--
(1) There is created in the Department of Legal Affairs an Office of Statewide Prosecution. The office shall be a separate "budget entity" as that term is defined in chapter 216. The office may:
(a) Investigate and prosecute the offenses of:
1. Bribery, burglary, criminal usury, extortion, gambling, kidnapping, larceny, murder, prostitution, perjury, robbery, carjacking, and home-invasion robbery;
2. Any crime involving narcotic or other dangerous drugs;
3. Any violation of the provisions of the Florida RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization) Act, including any offense listed in the definition of racketeering activity in s. 895.02(1)(a), providing such listed offense is investigated in connection with a violation of s. 895.03 and is charged in a separate count of an information or indictment containing a count charging a violation of s. 895.03, the prosecution of which listed offense may continue independently if the prosecution of the violation of s. 895.03 is terminated for any reason;
4. Any violation of the provisions of the Florida Anti-Fencing Act;
5. Any violation of the provisions of the Florida Antitrust Act of 1980, as amended;
6. Any crime involving, or resulting in, fraud or deceit upon any person;
7. Any violation of s. 847.0135, relating to computer pornography and child exploitation prevention, or any offense related to a violation of s. 847.0135;
8. Any violation of the provisions of chapter 815; or
9. Any criminal violation of part I of chapter 499;
or any attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit any of the crimes specifically enumerated above. The office shall have such power only when any such offense is occurring, or has occurred, in two or more judicial circuits as part of a related transaction, or when any such offense is connected with an organized criminal conspiracy affecting two or more judicial circuits.
(b) Upon request, cooperate with and assist state attorneys and state and local law enforcement officials in their efforts against organized crimes.
(c) Request and receive from any department, division, board, bureau, commission, or other agency of the state, or of any political subdivision thereof, cooperation and assistance in the performance of its duties.
(2) The Attorney General shall appoint a statewide prosecutor from not less than three persons nominated by the judicial nominating commission for the Supreme Court. The statewide prosecutor shall be in charge of the Office of Statewide Prosecution for a term of 4 years to run concurrently with the term of the appointing official. The statewide prosecutor shall be an elector of the state, shall have been a member of The Florida Bar for the preceding 5 years, and shall devote full time to the duties of statewide prosecutor and not engage in the private practice of law. The Attorney General may remove the statewide prosecutor prior to the end of his or her term. A vacancy in the position of statewide prosecutor shall be filled within 60 days. During the period of any vacancy, the Attorney General shall exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of the statewide prosecutor. A person appointed statewide prosecutor is prohibited from running for or accepting appointment to any state office for a period of 2 years following vacation of office. The statewide prosecutor shall on March 1 of each year report in writing to the Governor and the Attorney General on the activities of the office for the preceding year and on the goals and objectives for the next year.
(3) The statewide prosecutor may conduct hearings at any place in the state; summon and examine witnesses; require the production of physical evidence; sign informations, indictments, and other official documents; confer immunity; move the court to reduce the sentence of a person convicted of drug trafficking who provides substantial assistance; attend to and serve as the legal adviser to the statewide grand jury; and exercise such other powers as by law are granted to state attorneys. The statewide prosecutor may designate one or more assistants to exercise any such powers.
(4) It is the intent of the Legislature that in carrying out the duties of this office, the statewide prosecutor shall, whenever feasible, use sworn investigators employed by the Department of Law Enforcement, and may request the assistance, where appropriate, of sworn investigators employed by other law enforcement agencies.
History.--ss. 1, 9, ch. 85-179; s. 1, ch. 90-12; s. 1, ch. 92-108; s. 4, ch. 93-212; s. 51, ch. 95-147; s. 5, ch. 95-427; s. 8, ch. 96-252; s. 6, ch. 96-260; s. 69, ch. 96-388; s. 3, ch. 97-78; s. 12, ch. 2001-54; s. 30, ch. 2003-155.
http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0016/SEC56.HTM&Title=->2003->Ch0016->Section%2056
Re #184
1. Bribery, burglary, criminal usury, extortion, gambling, kidnapping, larceny, murder, prostitution, perjury, robbery, carjacking, and home-invasion robbery;
2. Any crime involving narcotic or other dangerous drugs;
[ nurse testified that Schiavo administered insulin on two seperate occasions to Terri causing her to go into shock. Terri is not diabetic. ]
6. Any crime involving, or resulting in, fraud or deceit upon any person;
excerpt:
Joni Eareckson Tada joins
vigil for Terri Schiavo
Judge rejects parents' plea, says brain-disabled woman must begin starvation tomorrow
Posted: October 14, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Sarah Foster
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
"...Specifically, the Schindlers' attorneys, Pat Anderson and co-counsel Ferrara, brought a "1983 argument" – so-called from its section number in Title 42 of the U.S. Code dealing with civil rights.
Section 1983 – "Civil action for deprivation of rights" – makes anyone, including state and local officials, that deprive "any citizen of the United States" of "any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws," liable for their actions to the party they've injured.
Terri Schindler-Schiavo before her disability.
That Terri never had an attorney representing her interests in four years of court proceedings, seemed one of many obvious violations of her right to due process.
The fact that she received no therapy or rehabilitation in 10 years – coupled with Judge Greer's strict prohibition against any therapy or even testing – violated not only Florida guardianship law but the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
There was also the matter of the draining of Terri's trust fund – with Greer's full approval – which fell from $700,000 down to nearly nothing in just four years to pay the legal expenses of a husband who wanted her life ended.
Lazzara appeared interested in the issues. He asked for the official transcript of the Sept. 17 hearing, where Greer refused to protect Terri's interests.
According to Anderson in a filing, when the Schindlers in their petition for therapy for their daughter reminded Greer that an incapacitated ward like Terri has a right to essential services and rehabilitation and that it is the duty of a judge in a guardianship proceeding to protect those rights and to prevent any harm being done by a guardian – Greer declared from the bench that if he acted on Terri's behalf in this regard, Schiavo would move for his disqualification on grounds of "bias."
Lazzara also asked for part of the court transcript from a medical malpractice trial in Nov. 1992, when Schiavo sued Terri's doctors for not having diagnosed her physical condition. He claimed it was the likelihood that she was bulimic that led to her collapse, a condition her doctors should have caught.
Schiavo told the six-member jury that he needed money for his wife's future care. He said he was studying to be a nurse "because I enjoy it and I want to learn more about how to take care of Terri."
When asked by his lawyer how he felt about being married to Terri at that point in time, he answered: "I feel wonderful. She's my life and I wouldn't trade her for the world. I believe in my wedding vows."
Michael Schiavo (Photo: WFLA-TV)
Asked to explain further, he said, "I believe in the vows I took with my wife, through sickness, in health, for richer or poor. I married my wife because I love her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I'm going to do that."
He did not testify that Terri had, years before, told him she wouldn't want to be fed or kept alive "by artificial means." That claim came later.
Following the money
The jury responded to his protestations of love and awarded $1.2 million to Terri for her medical and nursing expenses and $630,000 to Schiavo for loss of spouse. She also received a further $250,000 settlement in a case filed on her behalf against another doctor. After the attorneys received their cut, Terri was left with $700,000 and Schiavo with $300,000. Her share of the settlement was placed in a trust fund and invested in blue chip stocks, U.S. Treasury bonds and a money market account. It was to be managed by a bank and guarded by the court. In April 1993 her assets were valued at $776,254.
Her trust fund remained relatively intact until 1997, when Schiavo hired Felos and others began – with court approval – to dip into Terri's trust fund. Most of it went for legal costs.
According to the St. Petersburg Times, which investigated the matter in June 2001, by April 1998, her money was down to $713,825.
At Schiavo's request, Greer ordered all financial billings sealed, but payments are public record. The SP Times estimated that almost half the trust fund was gone, with only $350,000 remaining.
Greer later approved a payment of $45,007 to Felos, covering a five-month period ending February 2002. Including that payment, Felos had by February 2002, billed for $352,211 from Terri's fund. Other lawyers, too, helped drain the account – in particular, Deborah Bushnell, who received just under $50,000 between September 1993 and September 2001.
It's not certain how much of the money intended for Terri's rehabilitation remains. Felos told the Philadelphia Intelligencer that a few months ago only $50,000 was left. He said the money ran out last July and he hasn't been paid since. Terri's medical care at the Woodside Facility is now PAID FOR WITH FEDERAL TAX DOLLARS THROUGH MEDICAID, he said.
Court records show Felos' fees came to about $400,000, according to the Philadelphia Intelligencer....."
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35055 The 2003 Florida Statutes
CHAPTER 16
ATTORNEY GENERAL
16.01 Residence, office, and duties of Attorney General.
16.015 Legal services; Department of Legal Affairs, other counsel.
16.016 Payment of per diem, mileage, and other expense.
16.02 Appointment of person to act in case of disability of Attorney General.
16.061 Proposed constitutional revisions or amendments.
16.07 Fee for defending offender prohibited.
16.08 Superintendence and direction of state attorneys.
16.09 Regulations as to the reports of state attorneys.
16.10 Receipt of Supreme Court reports for office.
16.101 Supreme Court reporter.
16.52 Participation in preserving constitutional integrity of state.
16.53 Legal Affairs Revolving Trust Fund.
16.535 Legal Services Trust Fund.
16.54 Florida Crime Prevention Training Institute; revolving trust fund.
16.555 Crime Stoppers Trust Fund; rulemaking.
16.556 Crime Stoppers Trust Fund.
16.56 Office of Statewide Prosecution.
16.57 Office of Civil Rights.
16.58 Florida Legal Resource Center.
16.59 Medicaid fraud control.
16.60 Public records mediation program within the Office of the Attorney General; creation; duties.
16.01 Residence, office, and duties of Attorney General.--The Attorney General:
(1) Shall reside at the seat of government and shall keep his or her office in the capitol.
(2) Shall perform the duties prescribed by the Constitution of this state and also perform such other duties appropriate to his or her office as may from time to time be required of the Attorney General by law or by resolution of the Legislature.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, shall, on the written requisition of the Governor, a member of the Cabinet, the head of a department in the executive branch of state government, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, or the Minority Leader of the Senate, and may, upon the written requisition of a member of the Legislature, other state officer, or officer of a county, municipality, other unit of local government, or political subdivision, give an official opinion and legal advice in writing on any question of law relating to the official duties of the requesting officer.
(4) Shall appear in and attend to, in behalf of the state, all suits or prosecutions, civil or criminal or in equity, in which the state may be a party, or in anywise interested, in the Supreme Court and district courts of appeal of this state.
(5) Shall appear in and attend to such suits or prosecutions in any other of the courts of this state or in any courts of any other state or of the United States. This subsection is not intended to authorize the joinder of the Attorney General as a party in such suits or prosecutions.
(6) Shall act as co-counsel of record in capital collateral proceedings.
(7) Shall have and perform all powers and duties incident or usual to such office.
(8) Shall make and keep in his or her office a record of all his or her official acts and proceedings, containing copies of all official opinions, reports, and correspondence, and also keep and preserve in the office all official letters and communications to him or her and cause a registry and index thereof to be made and kept, all of which official papers and records shall be subject to the inspection of the Governor of the state and to the disposition of the Legislature by act or resolution thereof.
(9) May periodically publish a report of his or her official opinions and may prepare and publish an index or consolidated index or indexes of opinions.
History.--s. 2, ch. 2, 1845; ch. 1845, 1871; RS 85; GS 87; RGS 101; CGL 125; s. 7, ch. 22858, 1945; s. 7, ch. 59-1; s. 1, ch. 78-399; s. 1, ch. 79-159; s. 7, ch. 81-259; s. 1, ch. 85-123; s. 45, ch. 95-147; s. 10, ch. 97-313; s. 6, ch. 2001-266...........
16.59 Medicaid fraud control.--There is created in the Department of Legal Affairs the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which may investigate all violations of s. 409.920 and any criminal violations discovered during the course of those investigations. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit may refer any criminal violation so uncovered to the appropriate prosecuting authority. Offices of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the offices of the Agency for Health Care Administration Medicaid program integrity program shall, to the extent possible, be collocated. The agency and the Department of Legal Affairs shall conduct joint training and other joint activities designed to increase communication and coordination in recovering overpayments.
History.--s. 2, ch. 94-251; s. 1, ch. 96-331; s. 1, ch. 2002-400.
16.60 Public records mediation program within the Office of the Attorney General; creation; duties.--
(1) As used in this section, "mediation" means a process whereby a neutral third person, called the mediator, acts to encourage and facilitate the resolution of a dispute between two or more parties. It is a formal, nonadversarial process that has the objective of helping the disputing parties reach a mutually acceptable, voluntary agreement. In mediation, decisionmaking authority rests with the parties. The role of the mediator includes, but is not limited to, assisting the parties in identifying issues, fostering joint problem solving, and exploring settlement alternatives.
(2) The public records mediation program is created within the Office of the Attorney General.
(3) The Office of the Attorney General shall:
(a) Employ one or more mediators to mediate disputes involving access to public records. A person may not be employed by the department as a mediator unless that person is a member in good standing of The Florida Bar. The Office of the Attorney General may adopt rules of procedure to govern its mediation proceedings.
(b) Recommend to the Legislature needed legislation governing access to public records.
(c) Assist the Department of State in preparing training seminars regarding access to public records.
(4) This section is intended to provide a method for resolving disputes relating to public records, and is intended to be supplemental to, not a substitution for, the other powers given to the Attorney General by law.
History.--s. 4, ch. 95-296; s. 3, ch. 2000-158; s. 2, ch. 2000-324.
http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch0016/ch0016.htmI just pray that he gets something done today! That was a good Florida Statute that you have, the problem is that no one is following the law. There are so many things that are obvious in this case and corruption in many of our courts is rampant.
I have seen this personally!
MCD