Fed Appeals Court Grant Terri's Parents Petition for Rehearing

FNC

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT WILL LET TERRI'S PARENTS FILE A PETITION FOR REHEARING FOR AN INJUNCTION TO REINSERT FEEDING TUBE... BREAKING

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Moderator update:

Court Says Yes To Schiavo Parents

March 30, 2005

(CBS/AP) A federal appeals court early Wednesday granted Terri Schiavo's parents the right to file a petition for rehearing for an injunction that could allow their daughter's feeding tube to be reconnected.

The ruling came just after midnight from a federal appeals court in Atlanta.

On Tuesday, Schiavo's 12th full day without food or water, the Rev. Jesse Jackson prayed with her parents and joined conservatives in calling for state lawmakers to order her feeding tube reinserted.

The former Democratic presidential candidate was invited by Schiavo's parents to meet with activists outside Schiavo's hospice. His arrival was greeted by some applause and cries of "This is about civil rights!"

"I feel so passionate about this injustice being done, how unnecessary it is to deny her a feeding tube, water, not even ice to be used for her parched lips," he said. "This is a moral issue and it transcends politics and family disputes."

As the Schiavo deathwatch drags on, CBS News Correspondent Mark Strassmann spoke with two families who grappled with the same issues as the Schindlers and Michael Schiavo. On one side are Dorothy and Michael Brocato, who have provided care for their brain-damaged daughter Lisa, who suffered brain damage from a heart attack 15 years ago.

"We have devoted our lives to taking care of Lisa, says her mother. The Brocatos are sympathetic to the Schindler's wish to keep Terri Schiavo alive

"I love her. I love her. I couldn't picture not having her around me,'' says Dorothy Brocato.

Ron Oister has watched the Schiavo drama play out from a very different perspective. When Oister's father was essentially brain-dead, his son's wrenching decision was to let his father go.

"It was very hard,'' Oister told Strassmann. "That was my father. And he was in front of me. And I knew he could never return to what he had been."

Oister says Schiavo's parents helped create this needless public spectacle because they refused to face their hard reality.

"She died then, not now. My own experience would say that one ends life at that time."

Jesse Jackson's visit provided an emotional boost to Schiavo's parents and siblings, who have maintained that Schiavo would want to be kept alive. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, insists he is carrying out her wishes by having the feeding tube pulled.

Mary Schindler, Terri Schiavo's mother, later made a terse but emotional appeal to Michael Schiavo: "Michael and Jodi, you have your own children. Please, please give my child back to me." Michael Schiavo and fiancee Jodi Centonze have two children, born long after Terri Schiavo fell into paralysis.

Although supporters of the Schindlers have claimed the dehydrated woman is being denied comfort measures such as ice chips for her dry mouth or balm for chapped lips, George Felos, the husband's attorney, defended how Schiavo is being cared for.

"Obviously, the parents and the siblings are desperate. Desperation may lead to different perceptions," Felos told CNN. "I can only tell you what I've seen, and Terri is dying a very peaceful, cared-for death." Felos did not return phone messages seeking comment from The Associated Press.

Jackson said he asked Michael Schiavo for permission to see the brain-damaged woman but was denied. He also telephoned black legislators in a last-ditch effort to bring back a bill that would prohibit severely brain-damaged patients from being denied food and water if they didn't express their wishes in writing. Lawmakers rejected the legislation earlier this month and appeared unlikely to reconsider it.

One of those contacted by Jackson, Democratic state Sen. Gary Siplin, said he told Jackson the issue had been "thoroughly discussed." Senate Democratic leader Les Miller added, "I have voted. It's time to move on."

The chief sponsor of the measure, state Sen. Daniel Webster, said he knew of no changed votes and that Jackson's efforts may have come too late.

"If he could sway votes — and I'm certain he may be able to — it would have been helpful if he had done that a little earlier" said Webster, a Republican. "We're running out of time. To do it now is not as timely as a couple of weeks ago would have been."

Bob Schindler described his daughter as "failing" following his visit Tuesday.

"She still looks pretty darn good under the circumstances," Schindler said. "You can see the impact of no food and water for 12 days. Her bodily functions are still working. We still have her."

First lady Laura Bush also commented on the case Tuesday, saying the government was right to have intervened on behalf of Schiavo.

"It is a life issue that really does require government to be involved," Bush said aboard a plane bound for Afghanistan, where she was to promote education and women's rights.

During Jackson's visit, a man was tackled to the ground by officers when he tried to storm into the hospice, police said. He became the 47th protester arrested since the feeding tube was removed March 18. The man had two bottles of water with him but did not reach the hospice door, police said.

Doctors have said Terri Schiavo, 41, would probably die within a week or two of the tube being removed. She suffered catastrophic brain damage in 1990 when her heart stopped for several minutes because of a chemical imbalance apparently brought on by an eating disorder.

The parents also lost another round in the courts Tuesday when an appeals court upheld a pervious ruling by Judge George Greer that blocked the Department of Children and Families from intervening in the case.




Court Says Yes To Schiavo Parents

[ninenot]

Politics is ugly, and has victims. Terri is one of the victims.

[nmh]

Pushing emotion of them isn't working. They need something miraculously legally. The Shindlers also don't have good lawyers. They've been screwing up. I expect them to do the same here. If they keep arguing emotionally as they have, they will surely lose. If they have new evidence that hasn't been heard before and credible, they may have a chance but it had better be good.

[nmh]

Pushing emotion ON them isn't working. They need something miraculously legally. The Shindlers also don't have good lawyers. They've been screwing up. I expect them to do the same here. If they keep arguing emotionally as they have, they will surely lose. If they have new evidence that hasn't been heard before and credible, they may have a chance but it had better be good.

[Bahbah]

could it be overruled ar overturned by Greer or any other court?

No, Greer, a county probate judge, can't overrule a higher state court, much less a federal appeals court. Only the SCOTUS could do that.

[lastchance]

Yes we must pray without ceasing. Terri has gone since March 18th without food or water, surely the hand of God can be seen in her lasting this long. I pray God moves the hearts of the court to reinsert the tube. All is in His hands and His will be done. I know no matter what happens God has not abandoned her.

[TigersEye]

I think it's too late. What chance she had of 'recovering' has been gone a while ago.

If the government will concede to give her the chance they should. No one should assume that she can't. She has had the will to live through many trials thus far.

[nmh]

"The more people realize just how torturous a way to die starvation and dehydration truly is, the more they might not want to take that action. "

THAT is precisely the WRONG approach. From the courts perspective it is about Terri's right to die, not the method of death. They have been convinced that Terri WANTS to die. The Shindlers really screwed up here. This was an issue they should have gone after with a vengeance and didn't. It's to late for that. They conceded on that. What they see are parents not wanting their daughter to die. Michael got the ear of the court as MORE credible and that is where is stands. So the method of death won't matter to them.

[TigersEye]

The problem is that the courts don't see it that way. They believe they have heard all they need to hear and it's a done deal from their perspective. It's just semantics.

If she dies while Nero fiddles it will be a stain of shame on this government and our country that will persist for a very long time. The facts of this case will persist and become increasingly clear as time goes on.

[myrabach]

I agree that emotion isn't working, that usually works if there is a jury... justice is supposed to be blind.

I was thinking along the lines of spousal abuse. I read on one of these threads that there were indications of fractures in Terri's xrays. If that is true, why aren't charges of abuse being leveled against Michael? Wouldn't they have to keep Terri alive as proof of abuse?

I'm just wondering.

Also, wouldn't it be nice if some high powered lawyer would step in for Terri? Of course, that comes from my American Rose Colored Glasses point of view! Too much Hollywood and TV in my formative years.

[PhiKapMom]

I agree with your analysis. Also believe if the 11th Circuit was going to rule in favor of the Schindlers they would have issued an emergency order to rehydrate. The only thing I get out of this is they agreed to hear their appeal since the Schindler attorneys had missed the deadline for the appeal on Saturday.

Even the lawyer saying Terri talked could be looked at suspiciously by the court since they waited so long to bring it forward. Their last pleading was all emotion including at the end asking for damages for the Schindlers and that the lawyers be paid. That pleading struck me as one an ambulance chaser would file.

People forget that Appeals Courts only rule on what is presented to them. I read their ruling and they tore the pleading of the Schindler's attorneys apart and cited case law in so doing.

[NCC-1701]

And IF the SCOTUS refuses to hear the appeal, Terri gets fed, right? I hope and pray for that. One other thing, could this case be taken from Greer and given to another judge? This is grasping at straws but if someone else had handled this, perhaps a differnt outcome would have resulted.

[UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide]

I wish you would stop saying the Shindlers screwed up. Felos & co. only look brilliant because the judges agree with their social agenda and they have absolute unquestioned power. Johnny Cochran couldn't win against that. If courts had wanted to reach the opposite conclusion they would have and they would have made the Shindlers' lawyers look brilliant.

[myrabach]

Actually, I was speaking more of the public rather than the courts. I worked as an Activites Director in 2 different nursing homes. I don't want to say that starvation was routine, but, in MY experience, families were not fully educated regarding that method of death. I can tell you that the more "positive" aspects of that choice is promoted when families are counseled on what decisions to make. After all, who would want mom or dad to suffer in a coma for years when they could go peacefully? [sarcasm]

What I am thinking is that people are going to take a much more serious look when choosing that directive, not only for their loved ones, but for themselves as well.

The death squads have been humming along in the background for a long time now. But the light has been shown on this and I believe people are taking a very serious look.

How can most people now check off "remove feeding tube" [or whatever language] without thinking of Terri?

[UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide]

Read post #986. It appears that Gov. Bush could replace both Greer and the local sheriff.

[antiRepublicrat]

What does the book off the TV miniseries "Storm of the Century" have to do sith this? Oh, and the mixed-language "Judgenfuhrer" would just mean he's a leader among judges. If you're looking for the word for a judge in Nazi Germany, it's Reichsrichter.

[nmh]

Another problem is that even DCF couldn't put out a convincing argument to UNSEAL her medical and financial records. If you can't do that, then I don't see where this can go anywhere.

You need objective evidence! I also think that this court, who has been approached atleast three times, just wants it to go away. They'll go through the motions do their posturing and then turn them, away.

[Pegita]

>>>>Yes we must pray without ceasing. Terri has gone since March 18th without food or water, surely the hand of God can be seen in her lasting this long. I pray God moves the hearts of the court to reinsert the tube. All is in His hands and His will be done. I know no matter what happens God has not abandoned her.<<<<

My soul was greatly troubled within the hour, lastchance ... may this mother's child be sustained. May those who hold sway over her life be persuaded to extend mercy ... In the hour of trial, Jesus, plead for me ...

[NCC-1701]

Thanks. Why the hell dosen't Jeb get off one and on two and get rid of Greer? There's a countdown clock going and there are no built in holds. GET ON WITH IT!

[nmh]

The Shindler lawyers really hosed this thing and I don't expect them to suddenly change. Emotions are running high and I would imagine that privately the courts are weary of this case and all the emotional banter. The courts just can't express it and have to appear objective. They rule on facts, not emotions.

[Bahbah]

And IF the SCOTUS refuses to hear the appeal, Terri gets fed, right?

Only IF the Eleventh Circuit orders that she be given sustenance in some form or other. I must say I am not hopeful about this appeal. I fervently pray that I am wrong.