Replies

Here's a quick answr to your first question from a google search where I found www.apfn.com:

Summary of legal expenses through September 2001

Attorneys                    Fee Amount     Fee Period

Attorney Gwyneth Stanley(1)   $10,668.05      (6/93-3/97)
Attorney Deborah Bushnell(1)  $49,958.15      (9/93-9/01)
Attorney Steve Nilson(1)      $ 7,404.95      (10/93-7/94)
Attorney Pacarek(2)           $ 1,500.00      (3/94)
Attorney Richard Pearse(2)    $ 4,511.95      (6/98-12/98)
Attorney George Felos(1)      $307,188.35     (3/98-9/01)

 (1)Michael Schiavo's attorneys
 (2)court appointed attorneys 
      Total                   $381,231.45  (As of Sep. 2001)

The next question regarding when Felos lobbied the Florida Legislature to change the law to add food and water to the list of things that can be withdrawn in cases of PVS (which is a wrong diagnosis and therefore illegal under this law):

This is fom a post a year and a half ago:

Interesting Timeline 
Posted By: Frank 
Date: Thursday, 13 November 2003, at 4:15 p.m.

Many people, groups, and the media have harshly critcized Jeb Bush and the Florida legistature for passing "Terri's Bill", claiming among other things that it is uncostitutional to pass a law that applies only to one person.

Consider this timeline:

May 1997 - Deborah Bushnell send a leter to Judge Shames (he was before Judge Greer) saying that the Schindlers should be involved in Terri's care during her final days (since Michael intends to move Terri to hospice and remove her feeding tube).

Aug. 1997 - Felos sends a letter to the Schindler's notifying them of pending action to remove Terri's feeding tube.

May 1998 - George Felos is hired and files a petition in Court to remove Terri's feeding tube.

April 6, 1999 - House Bill 2131 was introduced in the legislature by the Florida Elder Affairs & Long-Term Care Committee to amend Section 765 (Civil Rights) of the Florida Statutes. two weeks later, the legislature Committee on Judiciary recommmended that House Bill 2131 should also change the Section 765.101 legal definition of life prolonging procedures to add: "INCLUDING ARTIFICIALLY PROVIDED SUSTENENCE AND HYDRATION, WHICH SUSTAINS, RESTORES, OR SUPPLANTS A SPONTANEOUS VITAL FUNCTION".

Oct 1, 1999 - Senate Bill 2228 (formerly HB2131) becomes law changing Section 765.101 of the Florida Statutes to include the above.

Jan 24, 2000 - Trial begins to decided whether to remove Terri's feeding tube.

Feb 11, 2000 - Judge Greer orders that Terri's feeding tube can be removed.

If you followed the timeline, Felos filed a petition to remove Terri's feeding tube BEFORE the law was changed, and the trial began AFTER the law was changed (and Greer approved removal of the tube).

Why is that? Did the Florida legislature knowingly or unknowingly pass a law that would apply specifically to Terri? I don't think there were any other hotly contested "right to die" cases at that time. (The cases of Cruzan, Bludworth, and Browning were decided years before). I wonder who paid-off or influenced who to get the law changed?