Posted on 03/24/2005 10:56:33 PM PST by ambrose
Judge is considering ruling from late hearing
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (AP) - Another court, and another decision pending in the bitter dispute over the removal of the feeding tube from a brain-damaged Florida woman.
A federal judge in Tampa says he'll work overnight to issue a ruling following a hearing on an emergency request to have Terri Schiavo's feeding tube reconnected.
It was removed Friday. Tonight's hearing follows a refusal by the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. And Florida's Supreme court issued a late ruling backing a lower court judge's refusal to allow the state to take custody of Schiavo.
Judge James Whittemore asked the parents' lawyer to focus on the legal issues.
As attorney David Gibbs attempted to liken Schiavo's death to a murder, the judge interrupted. Whittemore called the comparison "emotional rhetoric" and said it wouldn't influence the court.
Meanwhile, the area around the federal courthouse was evacuated during the hearing after a suspicious backpack was found outside. The hearing was not interrupted.
You'd think with all of this free publicity, there'd be no shortage of high caliber attorneys who'd be willing to handle this on a pro bono basis. David Boies comes to mind...
Do you think we will hear anything tonight?
Sorry but anyone who goes to court loses. Judges will not help Terri.
He'll rule before daybreak. My guess, at least.
Would have been nice if they had had a great lawyer. Afraid the one they have was totally incapable of handling this. Can you imagine preparing 6 or 7 court presentations in one week?
No, the judge is stalling in the hopes that kidney failure is the 'final solution.'
"He'll rule before daybreak. My guess, at least."
I hope so, but I pray he takes his time too (to really look at the facts). This is such a messed up situation.
I'm so tired, but I can't even imagin how tired Terri's family must be.
I already posted about that. It is a painful spectacle in so many ways. And the list just keeps getting longer.
All the "high-calibre" attorneys are pro-death.
That's what makes them look "high-calibre".
They always win. The rest are rubes.
I second that notion. There are so many obvious things that the Schindlers' lawyers have done nothing with.
See post #11.
He didn't "get" it, did he?
This, plus I'm watching Randall "Charles Nelson Reilly" Terry pontificating on Fox; he's like a dog with a bone; the new face of conservatism, lecturing Jeb Bush and the United States Congress.
The charge that Whittemore has been stalling at any point in this case is untrue and unfair. He has been acutely aware of the time frame, and that is one charge he wishes to avoid. He is working through the night as we speak. One might not like his decisions, and it is complex and difficult, but the guy is not a hack. Whittemore is not Greer.
David Boies has been siding with the parents, at least from the reports I am reading here. David Boies is a damned good lawyer. He represented Gore in Florida 2000. He was a good advocate - not his fault that he had bad facts to work with.
How long does she have to live?
"Judge James Whittemore asked the parents' lawyer to focus on the legal issues."
What a slap in the face.
As we have been repeatedly reminded of late, we are a "nation of laws". But, does "focusing on legal issues" preclude a judge from using common sense in analyzing the facts of a case or decency in considering the big issues---like life, death and family?
How much is all this costing Michael Schaivo? Not that I care but curious if he is furious.
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