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
American Medical News, Jan 13, 1992 v35 n2 p13(1)
MD shares personal experience in treatment withdrawal. (Kenneth Smith; care of patients in irreversible vegetative state) Brian McCormick.
1992 American Medical Association
To advocated of a family's right to withdraw life-sustaining treatment from irreversibly comatose patients, Kenneth Smith, MD, is a hero.
The chief of neurology at St. Louis University offered frank and personal testimony at a recent hearing in the most high-profile "right-to-die" case now before the courts.
The 21-year-old Busalacchi sustained severe brain damage in an auto accident 4 1/2 years ago. Her father is seeking the right to make medical decisions on her behalf, including withdrawing her artificial feeding and hydration. The state wants to block any such move.
An expert witness who has treated Busalacchi since 1987, Dr. Smith told Probate Judge Louis Kohn that she remains in a persistent vegetative state. The state Supreme Court had asked Kohn to determine Busalacchi's condition after lawyers for the state said she was no longer in a persistent vegetative state.
Dr. Smith testified that hospital administrators and staff who claimed to witness voluntary responses by Busalacchi -- such as smiles and nods -- were practicing "self-delusion." Kohn said she was "frozen in time," and that her family had the right to make medical decisions for her. The family is awaiting a state Supreme Court ruling before withdrawing treatment.
But some of Dr. Smith's most gripping testimony did not involve his assessment of Busalacchi.
When the state asked about his qualifications to assess Busalacchi's condition and the effect of removing nutrition, the neurologist gave a general answer, focusing on his professional training and experience.
But he also told a personal story. In recent months, he said, he had been involved with several patients who "brought home to me the importance of decision-making and removing artificial food and water from patients."
One case involved a massively brain-damaged and permanently comatose man whom Dr. Smith had treated for nearly two decades. When he and family members agreed to remove artificial feeding and hydration, Dr. Smith said, it was more than just the agony of letting go of a loved one that made the decision difficult.
"His family and I were constantly anxious about the fact that the state of Missouri might find out that we were doing this, and intervene with a court order to foce us to give artificial food and hydration to the patient," he said.
"The Supreme Courts of the United States and Missouri say that tube feeding can be removed only if there is clear evidence that the patient wanted it. How can this patient, whose brain was so terribly damaged at age 10, make any decision?"
The same issue is central to the Busalacchi case. Family lawyers argue that because she had been unconscious since age 17 and was to young then to express wishes, her father should be allowed to make medical decisions on her behalf. But the state says Busalacchi's father is acting as the legal guardian of an adult, not the parent of a child. Therefore, it says, he can't take such steps without state approval.
Dr. Smith said there is only one difference between the cases where he has helped families end artificial feedings in Missouri and the cases of Busalacchi or Nancy Cruzan. With his patients, "the governor, the attorney general and the right-to-life extremists didn't find out about it."
But Timothy Kelly, a lawyer representing the state in the Busalacchi case, said the courts had a role to play because this case involved a guardian's decision. He said he could not speak to the other cases in which Dr. Smith has been involved, because he was not familiar with the facts.
But Kelly added that he was concerned by Dr. Smith's admission that in at least one case, he failed to follow the stated hospital protocols before terminating treatment. "For an individual to make these kinds of decisions on their own sounds dangerous to me, and I would hope that someone within the hospital is following up on it."
But the Rev. Kevin O'Rourke, head of the health care ethics center at St. Louis University, said the treatment decisions were not made surreptitiously. "I was involved in each of the cases Dr. Smith discussed at the hearing, and each decision was reached through a very open process that involved the family, physicians, ethical experts, nurses and other staff," he said. "We didn't call the press, but we didn't operate in secret, either."
Dr. Smith also outlined a scenario that those who support the right to withdraw artificial feeding and hydration often cite as an ironic consequence of denying that right.
The neurologist wanted to perform a tracheostomy and gastrotomy on a brain-injured farm-accident victim, to facilitate a ventilator and tube feeding. The patient's family at first refused, fearing the patient would be forced to stay alive in an unconscious state.
"After a three-hour conference, Kevin O'Rourke and I were able to convince family members to do the procedures, but only after promising that if the patient showed no sign of recovery in six months, we would remove the tubes," Dr. Smith said.
I told them we were prepared to go to jain to provide proper care to the patient, and we were." The patient is now recovering reasonably well.
But perhaps Dr. Smith's most emotional testimony involved his own 27-year-old daughter, Jody, a patient with HIV infection and a terminal respiratory ailment. Dr. Smith described how he supported her decision to disconnect a life-sustaining respirator when she and her doctors agreed further treatment was futile.
The woman was given morphine to ease her pain, a choice Dr. Smith said should be available to any dying patient. "Many physicians are reluctant to offer morphine in that situation, for fear they will be accused of hastening death. I think that is ridiculous. If a patient is dying, it is appropriate and right to administer pain medication."
Minnesota neurologist Ronald Cranford, MD, who has been a consultant in the Busalacchi and similar right-to-die case, called Dr. Smith's testimony outspoken and courageous. "It's wonderful to see that even in a state like Missouri, where backward attitudes prevail, there is a doctor who steps up and says he does the right thing regardless of the consequences," he said.
But state attorney Kelly takes issue with Dr. Cranford's assessment of Missouri law. In interpreting the law in the Cruzan case, the state Supreme Court "determined that the preservation of life was imperative, to the extent that, if they were to err, they wanted to err on the side of preserving life," Kelly said. "Now some people may see that as backward; I guess it depends which side of the fence you are on."
Although the Cruzan decision limits rights of families in Missouri to make end-of-life decisions for incompetent patients, Dr. Smith does not back a health-care-surrogate law, like those in other states. On the contrary, he worries that legislative involvement might open the door to further restricting patient and family rights.
"All we need is for the Supreme Court in this state to rule that surrogates can remove artificial feedings from terminally ill patients and patients in a persistent vegetative state."
Rather than lobbying for laws, Dr. Smith said, he would like to see Missourians march on the state capital to protest "the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent to care for patients in persistent vegetative states and the money spent to hire private lawyers to block families from doing the right thing." He shared his experiences as a doctor who has helped patients and families who wanted to withdraw respirators, tube feeding and other life-sustaining treatments in Missouri, one of the states with the most restrictions on when such care can be withdrawn. But he also testified as a parent, describing how, only a few months ago, he supported his dying daughter's decision to disconnect her ventilator. Dr. Smith's comments came at a November 1991 hearing in the case of Christine Busalacchi, whose care is the focus of the latest "right-to-die" debate in Missouri.
Judge Greer, Atty Felos and Michael Schiavo don't want to bring neutrality back to the process because then, there's a good chance Terri will win back her life.
They are cited by the Supremes of Fla. & it's posted on this thread.
Who LOBBIED HARD for those? Who created them and which Governor signed them into law? Isn't that how it goes?
And to current guardian and serial husband, "bye, bye, bye." I think it's good to call the husband a SERIAL HUSBAND. Combined with the right slogan, SERIAL HUSBAND, SERIAL JUDGE. Beware! Something like that?
Can anyone tell I'm trying to be post #2000?
All contact information is at post #1753.
Although ultimately, Terri's life is in God's hands, I wasn't put on this earth to sit idly by. We are doing His work.
If California (former state of mine) would join us, Florida thanks you. FYI: We have studied Terri's fight from a legal perspective, medical perspective and moral perspective. THIS ISN'T RIGHT!!! We need to spread moral outrage from coast to coast before Sept. 11, 2003 and continuing. Please freep your Nevada friends and other states surrounding kall-i-forn-nya.
It's football season and I've read that her dad shares football jokes with her. Whatever Terri's life experience is, who are they to judge-decide if it's good enough? It's been good enough for her over 13 years already! STILL URGING EVERYONE TO CALL GOVERNOR BUSH. Contact info is at #1753.
ONE FEEDING TUBE - SHE MUST DIE. Means testing with Judge Greer's seal of approval and hubby's attorney, George Felos cheers him on.
It's early in the morning. I feel somewhat melodramatic when I'm not quite awake.
112.52 Removal of a public official when a method is not otherwise provided.--
(1) When a method for removal from office is not otherwise provided by the State Constitution or by law, the Governor may by executive order suspend from office an elected or appointed public official, by whatever title known, who is indicted or informed against for commission of any felony, or for any misdemeanor arising directly out of his or her official conduct or duties, and may fill the office by appointment for the period of suspension, not to extend beyond the term.
(2) During the period of the suspension, the public official shall not perform any official act, duty, or function or receive any pay, allowance, emolument, or privilege of office. (3) If convicted, the public official may be removed from office by executive order of the Governor. For the purpose of this section, any person who pleads guilty or nolo contendere or who is found guilty shall be deemed to have been convicted, notwithstanding the suspension of sentence or the withholding of adjudication. (4) If the public official is acquitted or found not guilty, or the charges are otherwise dismissed, the Governor shall by executive order revoke the suspension; and the public official shall be entitled to full back pay and such other emoluments or allowances to which he or she would have been entitled had he or she not been suspended. History.--s. 1, ch. 80-333; s. 720, ch. 95-147.
I have made one as well. It's at www.geocities.com/kimmiefreep/schiavo/schiavo2.pdf
He knows good and well that the rule of law is FAULTY. Activist Judges are the first ones to harp away about the rule of law. But, Judge Greer doesn't have a leg to stand on if this becomes a Federal matter. I CAN'T BELIEVE JUDGE GEORGE GREER ISN'T BEING INVESTIGATED by a "secret panel". We do have the FBI's tampa email and phone number on this thread.
ALL: PLEASE NOTE kimmie7's post above with "procedures to SUSPEND A JUDGE" i.e. Judge George Greer, 6th Circuit Pasco-Pinellas County Guardianship-Probate Section.
President Bush says "help a neighbor." Everyone, HELP US HELP TERRI. See post 1753 for Governor Bush's phone number and others. Thanks, FV
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