Frist Says Courts in Schiavo Case Acted Fairly

Reuters ^ | 4/5/05 | Thomas Ferraro

[Crackingham]

U.S. Senate Republican leader Bill Frist said on Tuesday that courts had acted fairly in the Terri Schiavo "right-to-die" case, differing sharply from a vow of retribution by his House of Representatives counterpart, Tom DeLay.

"I believe we have a fair and independent judiciary today," said Frist, now trying to resolve a battle with Democrats over judicial nominations that threatens to tie his chamber into knots. "I respect that."

Frist and DeLay, as the Senate and House majority leaders, had led a charge for emergency legislation calling on the federal courts to review the Schiavo case. President Bush flew back from a Texas vacation to sign the bill into law. But federal courts refused to intervene and let stand a Florida state court order to remove a feeding tube from the brain-damaged woman. Schiavo's husband had said she would not have wanted to live in her condition, but her parents fought against the tube's removal. Schiavo died last week after spending 15 years in what courts had ruled was a persistent vegetative state.

DeLay, a Texas Republican, said afterward: "We will look at an arrogant, out-of-control, unaccountable judiciary that thumbed their nose at the Congress and president when given jurisdiction to hear this case anew."

In a written statement, DeLay said: "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior."

Frist, asked about the furor over the case, told reporters, "I will let members (of Congress) ... speak for themselves."

But the Tennessee Republican said he believed the courts "acted in a fair and independent way."

The Schiavo case was unique, Frist said. "Our bill said, 'let's let the courts take another look,"' he said.

[itsahoot]

DeLay, in the end, will do nothing. He has no support for his ill-chosen foot-in-mouth episode from last week

Then you and your crowd can take the bath for him.

[sinkspur]

Then you and your crowd can take the bath for him.

LOL!! You're pissed off and you can't figure out where to direct your anger.

So you direct it at me.

Like I told somebody else, you can sulk all you want, but we'll know who was behind Hillary getting elected in '08, if she does.

It will be the unappeaseables.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

I didn't know Frist was such a girly-man. You learn something new each day.

[Luke21]

The only thing keeping me from driving to the registrar's office to become an independent is gas prices. I'm already cutting back on my driving because of these absurd gas prices at the pump. My brother has already re-registered. My son in law and my daughter, both very conservative, are thinking about it.

I'm not going to vote for my gay, RINO representative Jim Kolbe anymore, nor my sellout RINO senator McCain, nor my senile RINO mayor Bob Walkup. What kind of party runs this kind of people up and down the ticket every election? Worse, who would vote for these GOP frauds continually? They are absolute scoundrels.

You can spin the Republican hemorraging anyway you want but we are real people sick of the Republican, politically correct, country club cowards. If the Republicans are going to ignore our borders, our economy, and the need to reform the Judiciary what good are they?

[Treader]

Thank you for ringing the Liberty Bell. This United States of America- the Greatest of All Human Endeavors- shall not waiver by the specious actions & commentary of lesser souls, who clamour for Justice, Liberty and Freedom- yet give the unjust their nodding consent.

[Robert Drobot]

Now I know of two, Saundra. You and me!!!

[itsahoot]

And if we get President Hillary, it will be their fault, for leaving us behind and abandoning 32 years of campaign promises, not ours for being angry at being betrayed.

There you go! Watch out though, Bush worshipers on this thread will take you to task for telling the truth.

[Twinkie]

Only thing is Hillary has always shown herself to be solidly aligned with the death cult/abortion crowd. The Clinton use of "force" is when their own hides are politically threatened.

[TAdams8591]

Frist is wrong, they didn't. Very disturbing. Had Terri been his daughter, his commnets would be vastly different.

Time to send out the Zogby poll to Frist and the Senators and to Delay and the congressman.

[Luke21]

You are telling us to vote for our betrayers, a bunch of Judases. Your rational is that if we don't continue to vote for a stinking pile of garbage the other side will get into power and show us real garbage. In the past, I've done that little dance too many times. No more.

The Republicans are worthless. Let them go the way of the Whigs and Know Nothings.

[applpie]

spineless republican representatives. i have had it with them and I am a republican.

[Treader]

correction--"This United States of America..." should read- "Our United States America.."

[itsahoot]

It is illogical to let the Democrats win because you're angry at the GOP for not stopping the Democratic program

No, Illogical is voting for conservative republicans, and getting the same result as with Demoncrats.

[itsahoot]

They are a disgrace to Free Republic, and to the American republic.

There you go, "Bringing in the Sheaves" talk about a disgrace. Since you are a California Patriot, just tell me how many, new Republicans were elected in the last election, in California? Answer:None
Did your vote for Bush have any effect on the election of GW Bush? Answer:No.

And yes, I voted a straight Republican ticket, but I won't again, because it really won't matter.

[itsahoot]

But a true fighter against the Left must consider what is still big enough to stand up to them.

Just how are they doing? Hmmnnn?

[Nick Danger]

What would you have suggested?

Leave Greer and the entire state court case out of it. Don't even mention it.

The law stated that the US District Court shall have jurisdiction to hear, determine, and render judgement on a suit or claim by or on behalf of Theresa Marie Schiavo for the alleged violation of any right of Theresa Marie Schiavo under the Constitution or laws of the United States relating to the withholding or withdrawal of foods, fluids, or medical treatment necessary to sustain life.

As Whittemore himself noted in his decision, "The plain language of the Act establishes jurisdiction in this court to determine de novo 'any claim of a violation of any right of Theresa Schiavo within the scope of this Act.'"

In other words, "Bring me a brand new case premised on a violation of the Constitution of the United States or the federal law(s) of your choice."

But that isn't what Plaintiff filed. Here's Whittemore again:

This court has carefully considered the Act and is mindful of Congress' intent that Plaintiffs have an opportunity to litigate any deprivation of Theresa Schiavo's federal rights. The court is likewise mindful of Congress' directive that a de novo determination be made "not withstanding any prior State court determination." In resolving Plaintiff's Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, however, the court is limited to a consideration of the constitutional and statutory deprivations alleged by Plaintiff in their Complaint and motion. Because Plaintiffs urge due process violations are premised primarily on the procedures followed and orders entered by Judge Greer... their Complaint necessarily requires a consideration of the procedural history of the state court case to determine whether there is a showing of any due process violations.

The Congress wanted there to be a new trial on the facts. The judge was prepared to give it to them. But that isn't what the Plaintiffs asked for. Instead they treated it as a vanilla appeal, alleging procedural errors on the part of Greer and the state courts. The Schindlers' stupid lawyers, not the judge, dragged the whole state court case into what should have been a de novo determination on whether Terri Schiavo's federal rights had been violated.

A federal judge need not accept the substituted judgement of a family member to determine the incapacitated person's wishes concerning removal of life-sustaining food and fluids. In Cruzan, the U.S. Supreme Court held that "The Due Process Clause does not require a State to accept the 'substituted judgment' of close family members in the absence of substantial proof that their views reflect the patient's." One may therefore argue that the Due Process Clause does not require a federal judge to accept the substituted judgement. There being conflicting testimony concerning those wishes, and hence reasonable doubt concerning what those wishes might have been, let's have a trial and determine her wishes de novo by "clear and convincing evidence." And in the meantime, please put the tube back in so this doesn't all become moot.

There is probably another fountain of reasonable doubt in the conflicting testimony of the various doctors who assessed Terri Schiavo's condition. Cruzan is silent on what standard of evidence is appropriate there, but if we assume that it too is "clear and convincing," there's an opportunity to throw affidavits at the federal judge to convince him that there are at least some doctors out there who say the diagnosis of PVS is flawed, or that we'd really need an MRI or PET scan to be sure, and we don't have either. There's another reason to have a months-long trial, and some medical tests to boot, and in the meantime please put the tube back in so this doesn't all become moot.

The trick to getting the tube re-inserted was to convince the judge that there was a reasonable possibility that Plaintiff's claims might succeed on their merits. So you claim we don't know Terri's wishes, and we don't know whether she is really in a permanent vegetative state, and you file whatever the hell evidence you have to support those things. Since the judge is prohibited by the Act from taking the state court proceedings into account, he has to either hold the world's fastest trial, or grant the injunction and schedule a trial on the claims.

Instead, the Plaintiff's lawyers handed him a bunch of muck about procedural errors by Greer, who had been reviewed six ways from Sunday already and found to be procedurally error-free.

[Ciexyz]

Since the Schiavo debacle, I have become totally apolitical. I can't stand to hear the terms Republican and Democrat. When I heard a political discussion while channel surfing today, I felt ill.

I don't want to hear NONE of it, ever again.

I don't care, I don't care, I don't care.

[don-o]

Oh get off your high horse!

I'll see that high horse and raise you a "where the rubber meets the road."

Now is the time to walk that walk that the Punb have talked for lo these many years. They have majority and the Executive branch.

If they fritter that away, then they have made their own bed.

[Ciexyz]

Please explain about how to register "Decline to State". Never heard of that before. Always thought you had to register as an indie.

[nicmarlo]

I'll vote independent.

I left the pubbies, too; Terri was the last straw with me. They're all talk; and even with a tricameral win...there's no action....oh, lots of hand-wringing....but we've just witnessed confirmation that we're enslaved under an oligarchy.