He wasn't successful in the Wendlund case; I posted the newspaper account of the judge's ruling on that case, that was almost identical with Terri's - but with a very different outcome...and in California. It was, at that time, also a case that reverberated nationally - :
His wife was not successful in starving him to death because of the Judge - who happens to be a man I know well, and know to be a brilliant, compassionate, fair, honest and probably the personification of what we grew up thinking a judge would be. We could use someone like him on the Supreme Court.
He is now Presiding Judge at the San Joaquin County Superior Court.
This is from THE RECORD newspaper, Wednesday, December 10, 1997:
Judge rejects plea to end Stockton man's life support By Kimi Yoshino Record Staff Writer Robert Wendland should not be allowed to die by disconnecting the feeding tube that has kept him alive for four years, San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Bob McNatt declared Tuesday. The surprise ruling cut short a high-profile trial monitored by medical and legal scholars across the country. Judge McNatt said: ""If I must err, I am going to err on the side of caution. It is necessary that I choose life. ... I don't know at this point whether here today I am preserving Robert's life or whether I am sentencing him to life." "I feel that this is the absolutely wrong decision for all the right reasons," McNatt said. "I entertain a strong suspicion that Robert would have wanted to die." But McNatt said a strong suspicion is not enough evidence to end the 45-year-old Stockton man's life as requested by Wendland's wife, Rose Wendland,...and his court-appointed attorney, Deputy Public Defender Doran Berg. They did not -- and could not -- meet their clear and convincing burden of proof under California law, McNatt said." If McNatt had allowed Wendland's life-sustaining feeding tube to be removed, it would have been a first for a California court. No judge has endorsed withdrawing life support from a person in Wendland's condition, conscious but unable to communicate because of serious brain damage from a 1993 car crash. Wendland's mother, Florence Wendland, and sister Rebekah Vinson, who fought since July 1995 to keep him alive, met McNatt's decision with relieved tears. "We are on top of the world," Vinson said. "We are going to relax for the first time in 2 1/2 years." Rose Wendland, who testified that her husband did not have a living will but had told her he would not want to live without being a "father, husband and provider," sat in stunned silence and quickly left the Stockton courtroom without comment. McNatt described Rose Wendland as one of the most selfless and devoted wives he has seen, but he said that to rule in her favor, he would have to extend the bounds of California law. "If I must err, I am going to err on the side of caution. It is necessary that I choose life," McNatt said. "I am not ready to start down that slippery slope without some form of guidance." The ruling, which McNatt predicted would be appealed, came 1 1/2 hours after the court day usually ends and before Wendland's mother and sister presented their case. Elements of the case have been considered by the state Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court. The case also has grabbed headlines in national magazines, won attention on Internet bulletin boards and aired on the TV newsmagazine "Dateline NBC."
A very similar case as Terri's - with very different results .............How I wished, these past weeks, that Terri had had her case brought before Bobby.
I'd like to see him put of for Supreme Court - it would be fun watching him confound those lib senators, which he could do with half his brain turned off
"If I must err, I am going to err on the side of caution. It is necessary that I choose life. ... "
This is a fair judge, unlike rabid Greer.
Wendland was different. As was the Martin case where he testified that a man who could answer yes or no questions--including an affirmative response to the "do you want to live" question--was the functional equivalent of a PVS.
Wendland had more functionality that Terri. I believe he could distinguish colors and could write the first letter of his name.
The whole PVS debate is disingenuous because Cranford doesn't care if you're PVS or not-- if you're not functional enough to meet his definition of human you can be killed.
In 2001, a young San Francisco man by the name of Robert Wendland died. Mr. Wendland suffered profound physical and cognitive disabilities following an automobile accident in 1993. Mr. Wendland died of pneumonia while his mother continued to fight his wife’s efforts to end his life via the removal of his feeding tube.Some stunning and ominous parallels exist between Mr. Wendland’s case and the case of Terri Schiavo and they merit consideration. Rose Wendland, Robert’s wife, had petitioned the courts for the right to remove his feeding tube, stating that he had a “right to live without tubes and medicines”. She, like Michael Schiavo, argued that aggressive therapy was not in Robert’s interest and that his death by dehydration and starvation would be “peaceful and dignified”.
Like Terri Schiavo, Robert Wendland demonstrated convincing abilities and awareness. It is said that he was able to negotiate a wheelchair through hospital corridors on his own. Yet, Rose Wendland insisted that he be “let go,” much to the opposition of Robert’s own mother, Florence Wendland.
In startling likeness to Michael Schiavo, Rose Wendland denied her spouse therapy, kept him from public view and instructed his caregivers not to disclose any information about his condition to his own mother. Even the absence of an advanced directive bears similarity to Terri Schiavo’s case.
In the end, Robert Wendland died of pneumonia (A death some experts would later call “exit protocol”) even as his legal battle waged on.
You've posted the judge's decision on the Wendlend case. The edecision was made in 1995. Two years later a report on Wendlend, per your post.
How is Wendlend today? Is he functioning? Is he eating on his own?
Thanks for the summary of the Wendlund case. I hadn't bumped into that one.
WOW!!
That case is similar.
Unbelievable the different outcome...it all depends on the judge.
Now that is scarier than anything when it comes to someones life.
Sounds like the wife in this case did the same thing and wrote the script for what finally happened in Florida in 2005 and leading up to that.