Posted on 03/09/2005 3:15:46 AM PST by amdgmary
CLEARWATER - Terri Schiavo could be taken away by state agents if the Department of Children & Families fails in its bid to delay the removal of her life-sustaining feeding tube, her husband's attorney said Tuesday. Also Tuesday, DCF attorney Keith Ganobsik announced in court that his agency will ask Judge George Greer to ban reporters from a hearing today on its request to intervene in the case.
Last week, the DCF lost a bid to keep that same request a secret.
In a document made public through the efforts of the The Tampa Tribune and News Channel 8, a DCF official said the agency needs up to 60 days to investigate ``30 detailed allegations'' of Michael Schiavo's actions as guardian of his brain-damaged wife.
``The allegations in the abuse reports go the the heart of whether abuse, neglect and/or exploitation has been perpetrated by the guardian such that any relief afforded by this court to this guardian prior to the conclusion of such investigation would be tragically misplaced,'' wrote DCF Adult Protective Services supervisor Michael Will.
Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, has said the allegations are nothing more than a veiled attempt by Gov. Jeb Bush to again interfere in the case.
In 2003, Bush ordered feeding resumed six days after Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed on court order. Bush intervened based on a hastily crafted measure known as Terri's Law that was subsequently found to be unconstitutional.
Greer, who found that Terri Schiavo would not want to be kept alive on artificial life support based on testimony at a January 2000 nonjury trial, has ordered the tube be removed again March 18.
Bush said last week that he would use any legal method to keep Schiavo alive.
The DCF, which is controlled by the governor, has investigated and rejected at least 89 previous abuse allegations against Michael Schiavo, Felos has said.
Now, the agency is refusing to say whether it will take Terri Schiavo into protective custody, Felos said.
``They will not state on the record that they will not take Mrs. Schiavo into custody after the 18th tube removal,'' Felos said. ``We asked specifically if this is what they will do, and that [lack of response] is very troubling.''
Felos' comments came after the latest in a series of hearings at which Terri Schiavo's parents are seeking to block their son-in-law from removing his wife from life support.
Bob and Mary Schindler say their daughter reacts to them and dispute Michael Schiavo's contention that her brain was destroyed when her heart failed in 1990 at age 26.
At Tuesday's hearing, Greer announced he will not allow the Schindlers to attempt to feed their daughter orally once the tube is removed.
The judge said he will rule today on whether to hear testimony from doctors in support of the parents' request for more medical tests.
Also, Greer is considering the Schindlers' request for a new trial based on a mistake the judge made in his finding that testimony from Michael Schiavo and his relatives showed Terri Schiavo made statements prior to falling ill indicating she would not want to be kept alive by artificial means with no hope of recovery.
In his 2000 ruling, Greer discounted testimony from a key Schindler witness based on the mistaken assumption that Karen Ann Quinlan died in the mid-1970s after a high-profile New Jersey court ruling resulted in her removal from life support.
Quinlan went on to live for nine years without life support, a fact that went unmentioned when a former close friend of Terri Schiavo testified in 2000 that Schiavo expressed disapproval of the Quinlan family decision to remove the woman from life support, Schindler attorney David Gibbs argued Tuesday.
The witness, Diane Meyer, said the exchange took place in 1982 when Schiavo was 19. Greer concluded it took place when Schiavo was a child and not ``some six years after the death of Karen Ann Quinlan.''
``It would be a travesty to think that a person's life would be ended ... based on a mistake,'' Gibbs said.
ping.
Sorry, Hand, DCF doesn't have anything to do with child support.
It's DOR. Same state, different agency!
Yup. . .can you imagine standing before God and justifying your actions by saying, "But the Florida courts said. . ."
Good, I hope they've painted themselves into a corner. The DCF needs to take her out of the hospice and examine her from head to toe.
I believe Felos, Greer, and Michael all have dirty hands and ALL their hands have misused her rehab monies. I hope they find the CLEAR and CONVINCING evidence needed to put them all on trial for attempted murder.
That's the court T.V. I want to see.
It's all about greed
well, thank you for correcting me on that. DCF is the group that puts jars of condoms on the counters of their offices where people go for assistance. They're also the group that looks for reasons to pull children from homes. They've got a great track record of putting children into abusive foster homes, too.
Once in a while, quite in spite of themselves, they might get it right under the same principal that if you play the same lottery numbers enough, you might win some prize.
This is the agency that informs mothers seeking financial assistance from the state that they qualify for more $$ if they divorce their husbands. Their zealous interpretations of bad law result in a net effectthat is destructive. They are clearly in the business of breaking up families.
Glad I was able to help you keep your numerous beefs with the state straight.
Once in a while, both agencies can do something right as well, like assisting custodial parents of any gender in securing support that is not paid voluntarily; successfully removing children from abusive homes and into loving homes; and possibly helping Terri Schiavo.
If we always focus on the negative, we become angry, miserable people!
thanks for doing me that service. and if we always deny the stealth creep of abusive government, people like Terry Schiavo dangle from thin threads for too long.
BTW, I don't think GREER is "considering" anything. He made his decision about this case YEARS AGO!
I believe DCF is going to rescue her...and then the statutes will kick in to cement it.
I would respectfully disagree.
Without the guardianship process in place, she would have been dead at Michael Schiavo's hand a long time ago.
We must strike a balance in our society. Ultralibertarianism is just as bad as communism or fascism.
this is a mouthful, but, then again, you're a gator.
if what I said -- restraining government -- is "ultralibertarianism" (as you imply) and is "just as bad as communism or fascism," you'd better have a word with the Founders. I think they took quite the opposite position: that unrestrained government is the antithesis of liberty (a tautology, in fact).
the only thing worse than government is no government.
Terri ping! If anyone would like to be added to or removed from my Terri ping list, please let me know by FReepmail!
Yes, the SHINDLER's can't but how about a hired nurse?
They should at least be packing.
I think DCF is serious.
I can think of another option.
Maybe this time. We shall see.
I'd like to take him on a little fishing trip. Either that or a little hunting trip.
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