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 ...
Calling out the National Guard to go get her is a stupid idea. It raises the tension levels waaaaay too high, and the potential for the loss of life, and other effects is just too great... Then there are the political ramifications for our nation... shudder...
Dis-barment...hmmm. Add a murder charge to that and we'll call it a deal!
I know that Runaway Slave Act is repulsive and immoral, but it's the law, so I turned in Huck's slave, Jim.....
That would not have resulted in a civil war. I doubt very seriously there would have been any shots fired, but no matter what you have to enforce your laws. You are just looking for more trouble later if you show weakness and look powerless in the face of stupid threats.
As soon as I saw Randall terry was involved I started to worry. I had high hopes with Congress getting that bill passed, only to have it dashed when terry started showing up on Hannity constantly.
If president Clinton can pardon criminals why can't someone pardon Terri?
You got in at the deep end of the pool, certainly. But atleast here you'll have comfort :) I'm off to see if another prayer will do the trick... Have a joyous Easter and take care Fudd.
Someone in notified the attorney for Shievo and they did an end run around the DCF. They got a restraining order from Judge Greer and then SCOFLAW (remember them) upheld it. That one is dead in the water.
No one wants to ruin Jeb Bush, I am certain he is a good moral man, but it appears that he lacks the courage of his convictions.
There's a whole lot of 'obvious' being forgotten this night.
I hope that a thorough investigation is done. I would want Governor Bush to request a DOJ investigation at this point to investigate violation of rights under the ADA and violation of rights under the color of authority. Hit these people HARD.
Because she hasn't been convicted of anything. She isn't being starved to death as punishment for any crime. She is just being starved to death. Somehow that is OK with the majority of the public.
Not entirely true. A governor can suspend a sheriff who is suspected of illegal or improper activity and appoint a temporary replacement until the allegations have been investigated.
When I lived in FL a governor did suspend a sheriff who was ultimately indicted and prosecuted. I don't remember which governor or which sheriff, but I do remember that it happened. Probably sometime in the 1980s, but I'm not at all sure.
yes....you and Darkwolf are right....regardless of how we think of the decision, we have to bite the bullet and abide by it....like you said.....if a Democrat pulled this lawlessness crap...we'd be boiling the oil and pouring it over the ramparts as we speak.....when we start lowering ourselves to their tactics and musings.....well hell, then we'll have to buy more bandages for the knuckles we cut dragging them on the ground......
Every municipality in my county has a police force, too. It doesn't matter -- if one party runs the county, then the politicians can exert influence across municipal lines. My closest friends's father just retired as borough council chief of his town. I've seen him threaten cops (in my presence) in other towns with firing if they didn't immediately obey his wishes (like taking a pregnant mother to the bathroom while her husband took wedding pictures with his son). All he would have had to do would be to place a call to his buddy in the cop's town.
Make no mistake, all the local politicians know and support each other (believe me, I know -- my uncle is an elected politician and he once mentioned that he can fix any local ticket because he knew all the judges). Local cops disobey them at their peril.
And jamming a tube back into a woman who has a legally decided court decision is ... illegal.
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