Husband's Lawyer Fears DCF's Intent

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.

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.

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.

Go for it!
Also, I know a lot of other guys willing to help.

It's kind of interesting to contemplate what all would happen.

Assuming I could get her out of the hospice and across state lines, I think it is safe to expect that I would be arrested within a few days. Likely by the FBI.

I'm not sure, but I tend to doubt that many local law enforcement types in Georgia, the Carolinas, or Virginia would be overly enthusiastic about enforcing an arrest warrant issued in Florida by Judge Greer in this particular case.

I recall two cops once receiving a marijuana radio call while they were talking to each other. They were stopped, parked next to each other, chatting about football or something. Some kids were supposedly smoking pot in a car somewhere.

One cop said to the other (I was riding along), "We'd better get right on that." They then resumed chatting.

I think that is about the attitude this would receive around where I live.

There is also the possibility that numerous legal issues could be raised which could call into question whether it truly constituted a kidnapping.

For starts, let's say that it was done with the knowledge and consent of the Schindlers and one argued that it was done in order to prevent an attempted murder. That Michael had demonstrably breached his legal and fiduciary obligations as her trustee and guardian, and was no longer entitled to serve in those capacities. He hasn't been for years. I personally believe all that. Those arguments may not ultimately prevail, but just those few points look to me like they could take years to get resolved. There's also more that could be argued.

I have no idea how difficult it would be to get me extradited to Florida -- or whether that would even be necessary, given that kidnapping is a federal offense.

I think it could be that I would be "out" of whatever detention in a matter of days. Greer and Michael don't have a lot of fans.

But even if I'm not out, don't need to be extradited. etc., the matter of returning Terri herself back to Florida -- to be killed -- seems to me like it would be less than automatic. That could take several more years.

Suppose. for example, she were receiving appropriate medical care here in central Virginia. Greer would certainly want her back, but how many legal, political, and public hurdles could be placed in his path?

A lot, methinks.

The really fun part would be the publicity a stunt like that would create. It would likely be an enormous media event. On every channel and in every newspaper every day for a long time. Perhaps even in the halls of Congress.

I have not gone into all the details of my hypothetical plan. It's just interesting to think about.

It would not be so bad to watch the fall-out from the relative comfort of a prison cell. In fact, I think it would be the most fun I've ever had.

I also think I would make a lot of new friends. Both the guards and my fellow inmates. ;)

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