| The story I read is that Greer issued an injunction against the DCF while their people were preparing to go in and take custody of Terri. When this injunction was issued, they called off this operation
They used the clean one: they appealed Greer's order to the Florida Supreme Court, and used a provision in the law that allowed them to act while the appeal was pending (which was several hours). But the agents on the mission backed off when the local deputies said they wouldn't let them in. That was a poker-game-power-play, not a threat by deputies to shoot state policemen. Had the mission arrived with "compelling force," it would have been the deputies who backed down. There was also the "dirty way." That was to simply ignore Greer's order, asserting that no judge has the power to order an elected official to not do his duty under the law. There would have been a lot of legal fireworks afterwards, but Greer could easily have lost them. For Greer to order an elected official to not act under a law he is sworn to uphold is really stretching a judge's authority. Greer could have ended up in the slammer for that. Instead, Jeb did the worst possible thing: he appealed Greer's ruling to the Florida Supreme Court, and during his "window of opportunity" (while the appeal was pending) he sent in the DCF. They backed down when the rescue mission wasn't strong enough to accomplish the mission. So Terri didn't get saved, and in the meantime the Florida Supreme Court has upheld Greer: a county judge can order the Governor to not enforce the law. That means that the law is whatever some county judge says it is, and statutes passed by the legislature are so much worthless paper. Worst possible outcome. |
I don't think yours is factually accurate either. The state did not call off the operation when Greer issued the injunction. There were two ways to get around the injunction, one clean and one messy.