Posted on 03/25/2005 7:55:28 PM PST by West Coast Conservative
Hours after a judge ordered that Terri Schiavo was not to be removed from her hospice, a team of state agents were en route to seize her and have her feeding tube reinserted -- but they stopped short when local police told them they would enforce the judge's order, The Herald has learned.
Agents of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement told police in Pinellas Park, the small town where Schiavo lies at Hospice Woodside, on Thursday that they were on the way to take her to a hospital to resume her feeding.
For a brief period, local police, who have officers at the hospice to keep protesters out, prepared for what sources called ``a showdown.''
In the end, the squad from the FDLE and the Department of Children & Families backed down, apparently concerned about confronting local police outside the hospice.
''We told them that unless they had the judge with them when they came, they were not going to get in,'' said a source with the local police.
''The FDLE called to say they were en route to the scene,'' said an official with the city police who requested anonymity. ``When the sheriff's department and our department told them they could not enforce their order, they backed off.''
The incident,known only to a few and related to The Herald by three different sources involved in Thursday's events, underscores the intense emotion and murky legal terrain that the Schiavo case has created. It also shows that agencies answering directly to Gov. Jeb Bush had planned to use a wrinkle in Florida law that would have allowed them to legally get around the judge's order. The exception in the law allows public agencies to freeze a judge's order whenever an agency appeals it.
(Excerpt) Read more at miami.com ...
I'm not demonizing him just because I don't agree with him, but...come ON!
Having said all that, I still find the sudden outbreak of Mob Fever around here amusing. I guess we won't be seeing so many "democracy is another name for mob rule!" posts in the near future, eh?
He is indeed a pissant district court judge, but he DOES believe he is a demi-god, and his legal buds are backing him up. And yes, he effectively DID offer his middle finger to the entire legislature of the United States, a governor, and a sitting President.
Newsmax... right up there with World Net Daily, hovering just above Debka... but not for long. I soon predict Debka will overtake them in relevency...
Tell you what, it doesn't take much to call in sick for a few days. You wouldn't get me to stand up to people coming to save a life.
This situation has turned reality on it's head.
I see it as you do.
Had the FL law not been amended to let spouses do this on hearsay, Terri would have lived, but the changed the law to allow Michael Schiavo to use this method to kill her.
The FL legislature has Terri's blood on its hands, too.
Only the Executive branch is clean. We couldn't have a shootout. I wonder if the sheriff's could have been ordered to stand down by the state police, or perhaps they could have been deputized into the state police, but I'm sure how the FL law enforcement structure is set up.
BINGO! There is NO Constitutional way that her rights should be denied by state agents coming in to force an action that goes against the legal court decisions as to what she'd want.
When dems criticize the courts for decisions they don't like, it's called crybaby whining, but then here go FReepers suggesting we turn the Constitution on its head!
Mrs. Schiavo's right to have the tube removed must be respected.
sooooo true.
Cops are not known for brains.
(dare I say little better than ketchup keepers.)
You're very eloquent and, tonight at least, an oasis for me. Maybe I'm just too tired to say anything pithy. It's been a roller coaster for people in this country the past week or so, especially those of us who are sickened at court-ordered murder. FR has been the one place I've looked this week for wisdom, for comfort, and to try to make some sense of this. Regardless of where you come down on this, I think we're all at sea to some degree. Tonight I'd like to remember why we all need each other here. Because I believe we do.
ah yes........Germany.....got throw in Germany when we disagree with anything or everything......and you are right, since this is not Germany, then we elect our officials, judges in many cases and as citizens of this nation, should uphold the law....
Meant to say I'm "not sure" how the FL police/sheriff system is set up.
Thank GOD she didn't die today.
Best wishes for Easter.
Printing out to remain in prayer... Thank you Blurblogger. BTTT
Local cops tend to do whatever the county bosses want. if they rock the boat, they tend to find that they get passed over for promotions, for instance. I know one cop who blew the whistle on corruption. When it came time to take the test to become sergeant, he got the third highest score. The response from the Powers was to change the quota so only two people would be promoted that year.
If this judge is connected, the local cops will do whatever he says, regardless. The judge's friends can make life hell for them if they disobey.
If true, this suggests that Jeb did more than we know.
That the social-services people, presumably on his direct or indirect order or signal, were about to move Terri even without a court order -- that Jeb was willing to confront the police with opposition from these government agents.
It's only fair to admit that he should not have ordered unarmed social workers to resist armed police, in the event that the police, as they did, insisted on a court ruling
before letting them through.
If I'm wrong about my deductions here, someone please tell me. This story strikes me as an extremely important part of the larger story.
There's something far more serious than that here. The state law is supreme, and trumps local laws. If those police officers obstructed state officials from enforcing state law, they have violated state law. Local cops don't necessarily understand things like that, but every state has a Supremacy Clause just as the Constitution does.
What really happened here is that Bush got his reason to go in there with real force. Those cops are technically in rebellion against the State of Florida right now.
The bottom line the way I see it is Terri HAS to die to hide all the fraud and corruption all the way to the top to the Attorney General's Office in Fla., who is also in on the cover-up. Greer is the fall guy. Terri will be state sanctioned cremated to conceal all evidence. No further investigation warranted. End of story.
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