This is so bad, butI suppose we need to be aware of articles like this.
Terri PING
Reading the copy of the February 11 2000 order to kill Terri, it seems that Judge Greer was in error as to the law. In the decision he used the word surrogate. Surrogate is the individual designated by the incapacitated person in an advance directive to make medical decisions for the incapacitated person. There was no advance directive. Michael Schiavo was a proxy. Plus he does not provide a citation to the exception in the law which allows hearsay evidence.
90.802 Hearsay rule.--Except as provided by statute, hearsay evidence is inadmissible.
765.101 Definitions.--As used in this chapter:
(14) "Principal" means a competent adult executing an advance directive and on whose behalf health care decisions are to be made.
(15) "Proxy" means a competent adult who has not been expressly designated to make health care decisions for a particular incapacitated individual, but who, nevertheless, is authorized pursuant to s. 765.401 to make health care decisions for such individual.
(16) "Surrogate" means any competent adult expressly designated by a principal to make health care decisions on behalf of the principal upon the principal's incapacity.
http://www.miami.edu/ethics2/schiavo/021100-Trial%20Ct%20Order%200200.pdf