Posted on 03/28/2005 7:48:32 PM PST by Theodore R.
Schindlers Were Outgunned by Lawyers Early
In case you were wondering, with so many facts in dispute about the Terri Schiavo case, the answer is relatively clear: The Schindlers, well-intentioned as they have been, were outgunned in the early legal fight that sealed their daughter's fate.
The early legal maneuvering created "facts" that are now beyond dispute in higher courts. One is the unbelievable claim by Michael Schiavo that Terri wanted to be starved and dehydrated to death.
One Florida attorney told the story on Steve Sailer's Web blog (www.isteve.com).
Here's what the lawyer wrote:
"I have been following the case for years. Something that interests me about the Terri Schiavo case, and that doesn't seem to have gotten much media attention: The whole case rests on the fact that the Schindlers (Terri's parents) were totally outlawyered by the husband (Michael Schiavo) at the trial court level.
"This happened because, in addition to getting a $750K judgment for Terri's medical care, Michael Schiavo individually got a $300K award of damages for loss of consortium, which gave him the money to hire a top-notch lawyer to represent him on the right-to-die claim. He hired George Felos, who specializes in this area and litigated one of the landmark right-to-die cases in Florida in the early '90s.
"By contrast, the Schindlers had trouble even finding a lawyer who would take their case since there was no money in it. Finally they found an inexperienced lawyer who agreed to take it partly out of sympathy for them, but she had almost no resources to work with and no experience in this area of the law. She didn't even depose Michael Schiavo's siblings, who were key witnesses at the trial that decided whether Terri would have wanted to be kept alive. Not surprisingly, Felos steamrollered her.
"The parents obviously had no idea what they were up against until it was too late. It was only after the trial that they started going around to religious and right-to-life groups to tell their story. These organizations were very supportive, but by that point their options were already limited because the trial judge had entered a judgment finding that Terri Schiavo would not have wanted to live.
"This fact is of crucial importance -- and it's one often not fully appreciated by the media, who like to focus on the drama of cases going to the big, powerful appeals courts: Once a trial court enters a judgment into the record, that judgment's findings become THE FACTS of the case, and can only be overturned if the fact finder (in this case, the judge) acted capriciously (i.e., reached a conclusion that had essentially no basis in fact).
"In this case, the trial judge simply chose to believe Michael Schiavo's version of the facts over the Schindlers'. Since there was evidence to support his conclusion (in the form of testimony from Michael Schiavo's siblings), it became nearly impossible for the Schindlers to overturn it. The judges who considered the case after the trial-level proceeding could make decisions only on narrow questions of law. They had no room to ask, "Hey, wait a minute, would she really want to die?" That "fact" had already been decided.
"In essence, the finding that Terri Schiavo would want to die came down to the subjective opinion of one overworked trial judge who was confronted by a very sharp, experienced right-to-die attorney on one side and a young, quasi-pro bono lawyer on the other.
"Nothing unusual about this, of course. It's the kind of thing that happens all the time. But it's an interesting point to keep in mind when you read that the Schiavo case has been litigated for years and has been reviewed by dozens of judges ... yadda yadda yadda.
"By the way, I'm guessing that George Felos is probably quite happy to work the Schiavo case for free at this point since it's making him one of the most famous right-to-kill -- I mean right-to-die -- lawyers in the country. His BlackBerry has probably melted down by now, what with all the messages from the hurry-up-and-die adult children you've been blogging about."
Your bro brings up good points.
Thanks for the document.
It is Karl Rove's fault. He polled the country early last week and saw this as a losing fight.
Why on earth did the Congress pass and the President sign a bill they wouldnt enforce?
Don't start second guessing or blaming the victims. Terri Schiavo's attorney had a boatload of assistance from conservative legal groups like ACLJ. The evidence they presented was never seriously considered by the ghoulish Judge Greer, the deck was truly stacked against them before the kangaroo trial even began.
A doctor was interviewed, who specializes in making assessments about people, whether they are in a stage that their organs could be harvested. She said, that Terri has consciousness and they would never harvest organs from someone like that.
In other words, beforehand, she was NOT braindead, or in a neurological state, where it would be appropriate to "pull the plug" -- there was no plug to pull.
So she had to be starved to death, which of course poisons and destroys all her organs.
It's kind of a catch 22. She was too aware and conscious for any ethical doctor to consider killing her for her organs.
Well said, this bears repeating.
Tongue darters in general give me the creeps. Kerry had that horrible habit of the tongue darting. I noticed that Felos was doing it the other day as he described how "beautiful" Terri was and told everyone to expect this for a while longer since she wasn't nearly gone yet. - I don't know whether the tongue darting habit is just a habit, or is some nervous tic that inidicates extreme self-satisfaction with one's own importance. I'm not kidding.
How much fluid do you think remains in Terri's eyes?
She is dying from dehydration, not starvation -- dying a most horrible death and she is still conscious and aware of it.
And this excuses the appelate Courts' complicity in Terri Schiavo's starvation murder? You are blaming the victims and their lawyers who worked pro bono for them.
Like another Freeper already said, I wish all the legal scholars out there doing the second guessing had helped the Schindlers when they really needed them.
We should start a movement to have Felos disbarred on the grounds of INSANITY!
You're an awesome writer, please stay around.
ping
Greta is a scientology member? Can you verify that? I do happen to think that outfit is an evil cult, and I don't normally suggest such things. But with them, I have a bit of experience.
No, it wouldn't be healthy - for the receiver of the organs.
She ill (most likely) die of kidney and blood poisoning due to being starved to death.
The tissue damage from weeks of torture would mean the recevier would get organs to weak to be used.
I served jury duty a few years back and we put a guy away for 20 years for aggravated sexual assault. The very first thing I noticed about him was his tongue-darting. The last thing I noticed about him was his look of surprise as we walked out of the courtroom.
They were lousy lawyers. Instead of presenting the de novo case, they dredged up all the old stuff against Greer's decisions. And, the federal judge pointed that out.
Like another Freeper already said, I wish all the legal scholars out there doing the second guessing had helped the Schindlers when they really needed them.
The Schindler's didn't ask. Even Jay Sekulow, renowned federal court plaintiffs' attorney, was reduced to giving advice on television. Nobody in the Schindler camp asked him to participate.
I've been saying for a long time that the Schindler's lawyers (both old and new) are totally incompetent.
maybe if you followed back the posts it would make sense to you .. a perfectly legitimate question was asked that I (and othes) tried to answer. get a grip.
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