Posted on 08/28/2003 5:20:42 AM PDT by Ragtime Cowgirl
Freepers, we may be able to help Terri:
I made some phone calls today and have the ULTIMATE PHONE CALL for registering a Complaint against Judge Greer. I can't reveal my sources but this is the phone number for a few pay grades above J. Greer.
Call the: Judicial Qualifications Commission at
#1-850-488-1581. I am complaining to them tomorrow that J. Greer isn't God, that he's been in the husband's corner since Day One, he doesn't care a wit about Terri's parents or her husband's attempt at medical neglect, and I'd like to know if Greer can be recalled or impeached.
HE SHOULD HAVE OR COULD HAVE HONORED GOV. BUSH'S REQUEST TO ASSIGN A GUARDIAN AD LITEM to represent Terri's interest instead of once again, taking the side of the husband. Judge Greer is from the Sixth Circuit Court, Pinellas County.
Oh, and ping everybody you can think of.
72 posted on 08/27/2003 5:06 PM EDT by floriduh voter
From summer:
"..do a separate thread asking people to call this phone number FV provided. This could get a guardian appointed if the judge is tossed off the case for BIAS."
Background:
In a letter, Bush asked Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George W. Greer yesterday to keep her alive until a court-appointed guardian can "independently investigate the circumstances of this case and provide the court with an unbiased view that considers the best interests of Mrs. Schiavo."
8 From JEB to FR: Full text of Gov Bush's letter to Judge Greer re: Terri Schiavo. Email from Gov Bush to summer, for FR | 8/27
----- Original Message -----
From: [Governor Bush's office]
To: [summer's email]
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2003 8:06 AM
Subject: Letter regarding Terri Schiavo
> August 26, 2003
> The Honorable George W. Greer
> Judge, Sixth Judicial Circuit
> 315 Court Street, Room 484
> Clearwater, Florida 33756
Dear Judge Greer:
> I appreciate the challenging legal and ethical issues before you in the case > of Terri Schiavo. As I have expressed over the course of the past several > weeks, our system of government has committed these decisions to the > judicial branch, and we must respect that process. Consistent with this > principle, I normally would not address a letter to a judge in a pending > legal proceeding. However, my office has received over 27,000 emails > reflecting understandable concern for the well being of Terri Schiavo. > Given that there is no procedural avenue available for these views to be > expressed to you in the normal course of the proceedings, I feel compelled > to write in the hopes that you will give serious consideration to > re-appointment of a guardian ad litem for Mrs. Schiavo before permitting the > removal of her feeding tube or other actions calculated to end her life.
> This case represents the disturbing result of a severe family disagreement > in extremely trying circumstances. Emotions are high, accusations abound, > and at the heart of this public and private maelstrom is a young woman > incapable of speaking for herself.
> I am disturbed by new rumors about the guardian's actions related to the > current care of Mrs. Schiavo. It has come to my attention that Mrs. Schiavo > has contracted a life threatening illness, and that she may be denied > appropriate treatment. If true, this indicates a decision by her caregivers > to initiate an "exit protocol" that may include withholding treatment from > Mrs. Schiavo until her death, which would render this Court's ultimate > decision moot. While the issue of Mrs. Schiavo's care is still before the > Court, I urge you to ensure that no act of omission or commission be allowed > to adversely affect Mrs. Schiavo's health before the September 11th hearing > you have set. No one involved should be permitted to circumvent due process > or the Court's authority in order to achieve personal objectives in this > case.
> Even discounting these rumors, there are a number of factual disputes > regarding Mrs. Schiavo's medical condition, past and current care and > therapy, and her prognosis. Given the contradictory positions of her > guardian and other family members, I respectfully ask that you re-appoint a > qualified guardian ad litem to independently investigate the circumstances > of this case, and provide the Court an unbiased view that considers only the > best interests of Mrs. Schiavo.
> It is a fine balance between Mrs. Schiavo's right to privacy and her right > to life, both of which are co-equal in our Constitution. To err on one side > is to prolong her existence, perhaps against her wishes, and continue the > debate. To err on the other is an irrevocable act that affords no > remediation. I respectfully ask that you give Mrs. Schiavo's family the > opportunity to present any new evidence as to her wishes. Evidence as to > her wishes should be reweighed as often as necessary to take into account > the effect of any new evidence, that is, to determine whether "clear and > convincing evidence" still exists that Mrs. Schiavo would now choose > withdrawal of life-prolonging procedures. While this process may delay the > surrogate's exercise of Mrs. Schiavo's privacy rights, it is necessary to > avoid denying her right to life. I urge you to err on the side of > conservative judgment to ensure that all facts can be uncovered and > considered before her life is terminated.
> I appreciate your compassion for Mrs. Schiavo's plight, and that of the > family members locked in dispute in these tragic circumstances. In light of > the ongoing contention related to so many issues in this case, I hope you > will consider appointing a guardian ad litem to ensure that the ultimate > decision is based on facts presented clearly, unclouded and uncolored by > personal interests of litigants.
> Sincerely,
> Jeb Bush
> cc: Patricia Fields Anderson, Esq.
> George J. Felos, Esq.
(WND article excerpts, cont.:) "On Friday, the Florida Supreme Court refused to intervene in the case, clearing the way for a Sept. 11 hearing in which Greer would set a date for removal of the feeding tube.
Terri's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler of Gulf Port, Fla., have been locked in a decade-long legal battle with their son-in-law over the care and custody of their daughter, who suffered massive brain damage when she collapsed at her home 13 years ago under unexplained circumstances at the age of 26.
***The bitter dispute over Terri's lack of care became a major euthanasia battle five years ago when her husband Michael Schiavo petitioned the court for permission to have her feeding tube removed, claiming she is in a persistent vegetative state and would not want to be kept alive "artificially." The Schindlers and a number of doctors and therapists believe she could be rehabilitated, but the courts have consistently sided with Schiavo and his lawyer, right-to-die advocate George Felos.
~~~~
The article is on CNSNews.com.
Florida Judge Rejects Governor's Bid to Help Terri Schiavo
By Jeff Johnson
CNSNews.com Congressional Bureau Chief
August 27, 2003
Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Florida Circuit Judge George Greer Tuesday rejected a plea from Governor Jeb Bush to appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the best interests of Terri Schindler Schiavo, a 39-year-old disabled woman who suffered a brain injury in 1990 under questionable circumstances. Bush had intervened Monday after receiving 27,000 email messages asking for his help on Terri's behalf.
"I read [Gov. Bush's letter] because it came from the governor and I respect his position," Greer told the Tampa Tribune. "Beyond that, it is going in the file."
As CNSNews.com previously reported, Bush wrote Greer Monday asking him not to remove the disabled woman's feeding tube until a new guardian ad litem could "independently investigate" her condition. In the letter, Bush referenced the "fine balance between Mrs. Schiavo's right to privacy and her right to life," which Bush noted are co-equal under the Constitution.
"To err on one side is to prolong her existence, perhaps against her wishes and to continue the debate," Bush wrote. "To err on the other is an irrevocable act that affords no remediation."
But Greer told the Associated Press that he no longer has a choice in the matter.
"Frankly, I think I'm operating under a mandate from the 2nd District Court of Appeals," Greer said, "and frankly I don't think I can stray from that mandate."
In that same interview, however, the judge contradicted his own assessment of the limitation on his authority by stating that he was "not inclined" to appoint a guardian ad litem.
Michael Schiavo called Gov. Bush's intervention on behalf of Terri "crazy."
"The governor has deliberately twisted the facts in this case in an apparent effort to kowtow to his right-to-life political supporters," Schiavo told Tampa Tribune reporter David Sommer. "This has nothing to do with him. He should stay out of it."
Schiavo - who, for five years, has been seeking judicial approval to end his wife's life by denying her nutrition and hydration - also accused Terri's parents of manipulating their Catholic faith to keep their daughter alive.
"I believe in God and so did (?) Terri," Schiavo said, speaking of his still living wife in the past tense, "but they are out to push it on people... suddenly they are on a religious kick."
Judge refuses motion for hearing to set 'death date'
Greer also denied a motion Tuesday to hold an immediate hearing to set a date for the removal of Terri's nutrition and hydration tube. The hearing will be held, as previously announced, on Sept. 11. At that hearing, Greer will also rule on whether Schiavo may legally prohibit Terri's priest from visiting her.
Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, had also petitioned the court Monday to prohibit doctors from caring for Terri's current fever, labored breathing, vomiting, diarrhea and a "substantial infection."
"Given the imminence of the ward's death, further treatment (other than comfort care) for the ward's infection and other medical problems is unnecessary, unwarranted, inappropriate and futile," Felos said in an emergency motion, adding that Terri, "should be put back in hospice and receive comfort care and die in a peaceful setting."
Greer denied that motion, as well.
55 posted on 08/27/2003 5:29 PM EDT by yhwhsman ("Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small..." -Sir Winston Churchill)
Michael Schiavo is using "privacy" as an excuse for denying Terri every contact from the outside world, even flowers. "One sign of the case's nastiness is the Schindlers' complaint that Schiavo limits their visits with their daughter. They also say he has refused to allow doctors to examine her, refused her antibiotics and needed dental work, refused to replace a broken wheelchair so she could be taken outdoors and refused the delivery of flowers from a friend to her room on her birthday."
"Her teeth are fine; she doesn't eat," Michael Schiavo said. "Why take her to a gynecologist? She was supposed to die months ago. I don't want her room filled with flowers from strangers or right-to-life activists. Even though she is vegetative she has a right to privacy."
17 posted on 08/27/2003 10:14 AM EDT by I still care
***
I thought Gov Bush very eloquently made his case here, in this part:
To err on one side is to prolong her existence, perhaps against her wishes, and continue the debate. To err on the other is an irrevocable act that affords no remediation.
18 posted on 08/27/2003 10:14 AM EDT by summer
***
..this judge is going to look really bad if this part is ignored by the judge:
Even discounting these rumors, there are a number of factual disputes > regarding Mrs. Schiavo's medical condition, past and current care and > therapy, and her prognosis. Given the contradictory positions of her > guardian and other family members
21 posted on 08/27/2003 10:17 AM EDT by summer
*** HE SHOULD HAVE OR COULD HAVE HONORED GOV. BUSH'S REQUEST TO ASSIGN A GUARDIAN AD LITEM to represent Terri's interest instead of once again, taking the side of the husband. Judge Greer is from the Sixth Circuit Court, Pinellas County. That is one thing that floors me .. This Judge should have long ago appointed an independent Guardian Ad Litem and not left her husband as her sole guardian .. especially since there are questions about her husband with abuse and the fractured bones that were reveled in xrays of Terry. Everything I have read .. this Judge seems hell bent on having her killed 73 posted on 08/28/2003 2:45 AM EDT by Mo1 (http://www.favewavs.com/wavs/cartoons/spdemocrats.wav) *** I know that Mr. Schiavo has tried to ban Terri's mother and family and priest from seeing her. 27 posted on 08/26/2003 7:34 PM EDT by hocndoc (Choice is the # 1 killer in the US) *** Judge Greer has been with the husband since day one. A guardian ad litem would have been fair for Terri and her parents. Her parents love her but they are treated as the enemy. I'm ashamed this is happening in Pinellas County. 31 posted on 08/26/2003 7:41 PM EDT by floriduh voter
Judge Greer will not appoint a guardian ad litem. I have phone numbers from the phone book for the Clearwater Courthouse and all the guardianship phone numbers. He husband held a presser today and was very flippant about Jeb's letter and called the emailers a "bunch of right to lifers." Hubby is looking a little nervous but with a pal like Judge Greer who is no Judge Moore, Terri has until the September 11 hearing to decide the date her starvation begins. Here are the phone numbers: courthouse - 727-464-3000, guardianship numbers: 727-582-7563, 727-582-7771, and 727-464-8700. We can at least call as friends of Terri and voice our concerns. 25 posted on 08/26/2003 7:34 PM EDT by floriduh voter Freepers, please call the Juducial Qualification Commission regarding Judge Greer: 1-850-488-1581. *** Contact friends, thank those have been fighting on Terri's behalf, including Glenn Beck, Lars Larson, CNS News.com, WND, and Bill O'Reilly. *** Terri Schindler Schiavo's website - background and news updates: www.terrisfight.org *** 8 Terri Schiavo's website Media Contacts Governor Jeb Bush (R) The Honorable(?) George W. Greer Attorney General Charlie Crist
But, I don't know how a court could prevent doctors from ordering therapy, speach therapy (which is often actually swallowing therapy) and most especially oral nutrition.
Office of The Governor
Florida Capitol Building, PL-05
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
(850) 488-7146
(850) 488-4441
jeb.bush@myflorida.com
6th Judicial Circuit
315 Court Street, Room 484
Clearwater, FL 33756
(727) 464-3933
ggreer@co.pinellas.fl.us
Office of Attorney General
State of Florida
The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050
(850) 487-1963
Fax: (850) 487-2564
ag@oag.state.fl.us
According to Cranford, these and other of Wendland's activities mean little. He also opined in his testimony that Wendland's therapists, who believe he has slowly improved, should be disregarded by McNatt because they are only "seeing what they want to see." Perhaps it is Cranford who is not seeking what he does not want to see.
Can you believe that? I didn't know when this article was written, so I did a search on the patient's name - Robert Wendland - to find out. Looks like he died in July of 2001, thankfully of pneumonia and NOT by starvation, despite a six year court battle between his wife and his mother - hmm, sound familiar?
Does it do anything to potassium balance in the body?
March 19, 1992 – Mary Martin files a petition in the Probate Court, seeking authorization to remove Michael's life support.
October 30, 1992 – In the first hearing of the case, Judge George A. Greig rules that clear and convincing evidence had been presented that Michael did not want to be "kept a dependent person” and that his condition "falls within what Michael did not want to be." However, he also says that Michael's intentions cannot be considered because they were not put in writing. Consequently, the petition for authority to withdraw Michael's life support is denied.
July 19, 1993 – The Michigan Court of Appeals sends the case back to the Probate Court. Judge Greig then changes his original ruling and agrees to allow Mary to order the removal of her husband's feeding tube. That ruling is affirmed by the Court of Appeals.
August 22, 1995 – The Michigan Supreme Court overrules Judge Greig and the Court of Appeals and says that Michael Martin cannot be removed from life support.
May 21, 1998 – Mary Martin addresses the "Families on the Frontier of Dying" conference in Philadelphia.
Important People Broder, Andrew – Mary Martin’s attorney.
Cranford, Ronald – Neurologist who explains the severity of Michael Martin’s brain injuries.
Greig, George A. – Judge of the Probate Court in Allegan, Michigan, who presides over the Martin case in two separate instances.
Hess, Dan and Hess, John – Patricia Major’s attorneys.
Kreitsch, Robert – Physician, and one of several health care professionals who testifies that Michael Martin does have some abilities and awareness—that he is, in short, a functioning human being.
Major, Patricia – Michael Martin’s sister. She wants his life support to continue and charges that Mary Martin wants him to die because she is involved with another man and stands to gain financially.
Martin, Leeta – Michael Martin’s mother. She wants Mary Martin removed as Michael’s legal guardian.
Rutherford, Donald – Michael Martin’s physician. He testifies that Martin has no basic human functions.
Sears, George – Mary Martin’s brother. He testifies that Michael Martin is responsive and wants to live.
Depressingly, this is something I found from a medline search on Ronald, the good doctor,and here is considered a "landmark" case.
"LANDMARK TRIALS OF MODERN ETHICS
New conditions bring new choices. Today, advances in technology and changing social norms force us to confront ethical issues that rarely arose in the past. Sophisticated medical devices can keep a patient alive in ways that were once impossible. But what if a patient—or a patient’s family—doesn’t wish these mechanisms to be used? Another concern involves the end of life—who decides when it occurs? If a terminally ill person chooses to die, does that person deserve medical assistance? Or how far can a child go when he believes his parents are abusive? Very often, such delicate questions must be decided in court.
LANDMARK TRIALS OF MODERN ETHICS explores some of these remarkable cases. IN RE MICHAEL MARTIN: A BATTLE OVER LIFE SUPPORT Today, medical advances in the form of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), ventilators, and other kinds of life-sustaining devices, have made it possible to keep people alive in situations that would once have meant their deaths. The result has often meant painful decisions by patients, caregivers, and physicians on what efforts should be made to keep seriously injured or ill patients alive. In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed this topic in what was known as the Nancy Cruzan case, which involved a decision on whether to discontinue the feeding tube of a Missouri woman who was in an irreversible neurological condition. The state of Missouri had opposed the removal of Cruzan’s feeding tube because, it said, there was no "clear and convincing evidence" that she would have wanted the tube taken out. The Supreme Court ruled that feeding tubes could be removed but also held that individual states had the right to set guidelines regarding such a procedure. The issue then became: what constitutes “clear and convincing evidence” that someone would not want life support to continue? Two ways of addressing that problem became prominent. In a “living will,” a person explicitly states that if he or she is in an irreversible condition, certain types of interventions should not be used. Another solution was the health care proxy—a person designated to make health decisions for the incapacitated person. Unfortunately, it is estimated that only about 15 percent of people make one of these kinds of advance directives. Such was the case of Michael Martin, a Michigan man so badly injured that he could not make healthcare decisions for himself. Martin had never put anything in writing concerning his treatment, but his wife insisted that she had promised him that she would allow him to die if he should ever become totally dependent on others to live. Yet Michael Martin, though clearly incapacitated, was not unconscious. Should he live or should he be allowed to die
Doesn't sound silly at all. I keep praying for similar, although yours sounds much more fun for Terri! :) Hey, stranger things have happened.
From this article posted on FR in July -
He soon emerged partially from the coma. But for 18 years, he could communicate only by blinking his eyes or grunting.
Then, on June 13, he called out "Mom" to his mother and later asked for a Pepsi. While home from the hospital for a weekend, he said he wanted milk with his breakfast. Since then, he has steadily increased his vocabulary, and he is considered fully emerged from his stupor.
Helga Wanglie
Helga Wanglie was 86 when she broke her hip in Decemeber of 1989 after falling on a rug in her Minneapolis home. She was treated and released from a local hospital and moved to a nursing home. In January of 1990 she was readmitted to the hospital and placed on a respirator, due to respiratory complications. Attempts to wean her from the respirator were unsuccessful, and in May of 1990 she was transferred to a long-term care facility that specialized in treating respirator-dependent patients.
Wanglie suffered a heart attack while under the care of this facility. Resuscitation efforts were successful, although she had been deprived of oxygen for several minutes, resulting in severe and irreversible brain damage. She was readmitted to the hospital on May 31, 1990, where she continued to use a respirator and was provided food and fluids through a tube implanted into her stomach. After repeated evaluations, she was diagnosed as PVS (persistent vegetative state) with the complication of permanent respirator dependency.
Wanglie had left no written record of her wishes in the form of a living will or advance directive, and was no longer in a position to indicate her preferences. Because of her prognosis, the medical staff suggested that the family reevaluate continuing the extensive care required to prolong her existence. Relatives opposed termination of treatment. Doctors countered that in Wanglie's case, they would have to go beyond the limit of "reasonable care" to maintain her existence.
Since the family remained unconvinced, hospital administrators and the medical staff took the case to court, where they requested the appointment of an independent guardian. As the physician who served as the ethical consultant for the hospital argued that a physician should not have to provide medical care that does not serve a patient's medical interest, the Wanglies persisted that all medical treatment to keep Helga alive be continued.
In a ruling issued July 1, 1991, Probate Judge Patricia L. Belois of the Hennepin County Court rejected the hospital's position and turned over full guardianship to Oliver Wanglie, Helga's 87 year-old husband.
Helga Wanglie died of multisystem organ failure on July 4, 1991. Her medical bill was approximately $750,000.
OH my LORD.
Sicker and sicker, more evil than you would think...
See what I mean about this? We were trying to get legal guardianship, from my father's second wife, the one who was so busy while he was dying that she was out making sure a property sale closed before he was actually dead....and the attorney told us that the spouse always rules in the end.
Legally it seems, you can almost never get that guardianship away from the spouse. No matter how obvious it is that they are money-grubbing pigs or have no love or concern for their husband or wife.
Storm Henre is here. So, I took care of the mailbox and dumpster trip. I had no desire to spend a tropical storm with my messy garbage. lol
This Foxlea Farms is for horses. "Care specialists." (gag, take good care of your horses) It is in Venice, Florida, in the southwest portion. I see Naples on my atlas, no Venice. Old book.
I had no idea the pro-death without due process movement was so big. It's really awful that Florida's leading the pack.
I keep emailing and calling. Emails get me auto-responses but phone calls have been successful. THEY ARE LISTENING and I leave out the emotion and stick to the fact that THIS IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND AGAINST THE ADA. I mention that she will be starved to death and that she's not terminal. I encourage everyone to call as a backup to your emails. It may be more effective in the long run to call.
If they abuse their power, someone ends up dead who very well might be happy to be alive.
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