http://news.tbo.com/news/MGAXS5DP9ND.html Schiavo Case Judge Refuses To Step Down
By STEPHEN THOMPSON
spthompson@tampatrib.com Published: Nov 21, 2003
CLEARWATER - Circuit Judge Douglas Baird on Thursday refused to step down as requested by Gov. Jeb Bush in the court battle over ``Terri's Law,'' which Bush signed to order a feeding tube reinserted into the abdomen of Terri Schiavo.
In court filings Wednesday, Bush asked Baird to disqualify himself after Baird made remarks at a hearing Friday that the law intruded on Schiavo's privacy rights and was ``presumptively unconstitutional.''
That is the argument advanced by Schiavo's husband, Michael, who is challenging Bush and the law in a case over which Baird presides...
On Wednesday, Bush's attorney in the case, Kenneth Connor, comparing Baird to a character from ``Alice In Wonderland,'' accused the judge of making a determination on the constitutionality of Terri's Law before the governor had made his case.
Baird, in a tersely worded response Thursday, said that although he didn't contest the facts recounted in Connor's motion to disqualify him, it didn't reach the legal threshold that would require him to recuse himself.
A spokeswoman from the governor's office said Bush's attorneys will assess Baird's response and respond.
George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, said he had planned on submitting a pleading arguing that Baird should not recuse himself. But Baird beat him to the punch.
Meanwhile, a different Pinellas-Pasco circuit judge issued a ruling in another legal battle centering on Terri Schiavo - this one started by her parents, who want their son- in-law removed as guardian.
Circuit Judge Crockett Farnell said Bob and Mary Schindler could not depose a Manatee County physician today, as the couple had planned, after Michael Schiavo argued they were just trying to revisit medical issues that have been resolved.
A third judge, George Greer, would normally be presiding over this battle, but the Schindlers have asked that he disqualify himself. Because he has not responded to that request, Farnell stepped in.
Circuit Court Judge W. Douglas Baird listens to an argument during a hearing Friday morning, Nov. 14, 2003 at the Pinellas County Courthouse in Clearwater, Fla. Baird ruled Michael Schiavo had succesfully defended his wife, Terri Schiavo's right not to be kept alive artificially. The judge ruled Schiavo's suit against Florida Gov Jeb Bush may proceed. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)