Terri Schiavo Before dehydration
Quick and dirty summary: "Should have hired better attorneys"
It's an outlaw system that requires the "best foot forward" to rescue an innocent from her murderers.
Basically states what I have heard from many sources...poor council was given/obtained by the Schindler family. I think, from what I know, I would agree with this
(and bump to self for later read)
Thanks - I have bookmarked.
An excellent explanation of the difference between the legal system we have and the justice system we long for. We now see the result of the rule of a man, rather than the rule of law.
What it boiled down to is that Terri's lawyers did not say "Please" pretty enough, Terri married a deatheater, got judged by a deatheater, and now will die.
An excellent explanation of the difference between the legal system we have and the justice system we long for. We now see the result of the rule of a man, rather than the rule of law.
What it boiled down to is that Terri's lawyers did not say "Please" pretty enough, Terri married a deatheater, got judged by a deatheater, and now will die.
PING
If GOD ALMIGHTY had been lawyer or witness for the Schindlers, He would have lost.
i agree after all i've read (prior to this article) that the schindler's laywer completely squandered the opportunity congress gave them.
one hates to see someone die based on incompetence but that is what happened here. there was no way that the executive branch would step in again after they threw away the first chance to do so.
the laywers didn't presented anything to kick in the "de novo" clause and instead of bringing one strong argument the threw everything they had at the court hoping something would stick. they took a risk and failed horribly.
congress specifically put the de novo clause in because they saw the possible incompetance/corruption of the state case, yet it was the laywers who squandered the opportunity.
Yet, both Judge Whittemore and the Eleventh Circuit failed to come to grips with the fact that Judge Greer issued an order instructing Michael Schiavo to remove Terri's feeding tube, even specifying the exact date and time when he should do so. The state court did not merely stand idly by while permitting Michael to take such action; the court affirmatively mandated the disconnection. That ought to have counted as state action by a state actor--Judge Greer--who was a named defendant in the federal court lawsuit.
Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! The STATE (as represented by Judge Greer) ORDERED the feeding tube removed! What does this mean? It means that Terri's constitutional rights were violated, since no one in government can deny someone LIFE without due process. This dude argues that Terri did receive due process, but in actuallity, it was only her husband's wishes that were under consideration, not Terri's. Judge Greer is WAY OUTA BOUNDS here. (As most of us already know.)
For those of you blaming Jeb Bush for Terri's death, the blame can be more appropriately placed right at the feet of the Schindler's lawyers.
Terri Schiavo Before dehydration
It is possible that in drafting their original complaint, the Schindlers' lawyers could not bring themselves to rely on cases that the pro-life movement abhors, and that they did so, in their second federal complaint, only when their desperation would color the courts' perception of the issue.
So the wacko right-to-lifers apparently hoistered Terri Shiavo on their own petard, emphatically proving that she was just a pawn in their game.
BTTT!
I saw Jay Sekulow say this same thing - and it is correct - the Schindler's legal arguements were weak and they did not take advantage of the bill passed by congress. I saw Bob Schindler say that he was a "legal neophyte" so they were relying solely on their free legal advice.
I thought that several legal sources were being used - banding together so to speak to save Terri - but that was not the case.
I've maintained all along that this was a violation of her 14th Amendment due process rights, and especially so when there is evidence that she is being put to death on the faulty premise that she is in a PVS, based on 9-year old tests, after she has been denied new tests and diagnosed by competent neurologists as not being in a PVS.
This is the first time that I have seen anyone else pick up on the fact that the Mr. Schiavo is not just acting on his own, as the appeals court not only assumed but stated clearly. (And flip-flopped on that issue for the hospice, thus the court had their cake and ate it too as far as I am concerned.)
However, I don't attach blame as much to the Schindlers' lawyers as to the federal judges. In particular, I think Judge Whittemore was downright dilatory, from scheduling the first hearing many hours after the law was passed until his final night, when it took him an inordinate amount of time to produce his short opinion.