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
Gentlemen:
I, along with countless others I'm sure, am writing to you today on behalf of Terri Schindler Schiavo. I am not a Florida voter, but have numerous friends and family members that are. We are all following Terri's situation.
I will not reiterate the facts of her illness nor those of the treatment, lack thereof, and subsequent court procedures and rulings. I would hope that someone in your esteemed position would have this case foremost in your thoughts much of the time. Matters of life and death tend to be pervasive in thought.
I will state my dismay at the unwillingness of the court system in Florida to appoint a Guardian ad Litem in this matter. From my own limited knowledge of law, appointment of a GAL is of vital importance in many cases with so much on the line. Particularly those in which the parties are at odds. Surely a neutral party or parties can impart a fresh, unbiased viewpoint in this matter. I used the term "unbiased" because of the glaring bias present in the action at hand. You, Judge Greer, have been entrusted with a solumn, sacred duty. Not only are you to impart judgment -- it is imperative that you consider each case with an eye toward protecting the innocent. I am sure many judges who have been too quick to pass sentence and learn of the defendant's innocence (sometimes years later -- DNA testing, etc.) have lost sleep over the pain they caused. To order the removal of Terri's feeding tube is equal to looking at clear DNA evidence proving a defendant's innocence in a textbook "cut and dried" rape case -- and sentencing him anyway. Were you to do that, sir, it would be a logical expectation that your job would be in immediate jeopardy. Yet you seem to almost gleefully march onward toward the day of sentencing for Terri Schiavo -- an innocent person. And such a day you have chosen. September 11. The day your own brand of terrorism befalls Terri Schiavo.
Is it fair for me to make such a comparison? I'm not a "protestor" or crazy, I have never before written a letter in a matter like this. I hold no personal malice for you. I am very respectful of the positions you have attained, and the "hard work" that I'm certain preceded it. But I believe in life. Yes, I'm one of your "pro-lifers". I believe that all life is precious. And I believe that, with the starvation death of Terri Schiavo, the rights of every man, woman and child in America are at risk. We are all a car accident away from the same condition. I fed my husband when he was severely burned at work because he couldn't "raise a spoon" to his mouth. It was not a problem to do so. It wasn't difficult. It was my honor to be a part of his healing process. There are physicians out there, Judge Greer, that would love the opportunity to do the same for Terri Schiavo. There are physicians out there, Judge Greer, that believe Terri can have a much better quality of life. In the event she dies 10-14 days after the tube is removed, it will never be known whether that lovely young woman could have done it. Can you live with that kind of "what if"? I couldn't.
In conclusion, I would like to say that I fear for our future. I've always lived with the fear of being dropped at a nursing home -- elderly, ill, and alone. Left to die alone. Until I realized that God would be with me no matter what. Now my fear is that one day -- elderly and ill -- I will be dropped off at the local center to be euthanized. No one will come to my aid, no one will take my side, and no one will care. All because of that landmark case back in 2003. You know the one -- the Schiavo precedent. The only thing that curbs that fear is not that "it couldn't happen in America" -- it's that God will be there with me. No matter what. Can you say the same? Esteemed gentlemen, I beg you to respect life. If not for Terri Schiavo, for yourself -- for me -- for our children -- and for generations to come. I remain
Sincerely yours,
Kimberly
I already emailed AG Crist and Called Jeb after he wrote his letter. I've called the local Clerk's Office and called a sptimes.com columnist who wrote "Jeb should mind his own business." Visit http://www.sptimes.com/ and look for columnist Mary Jo Malone. Just see how she's got no family values. I left my phone number but I guess when at the end of my voicemail I said "Dr. Kevorkian thanks you.", that probably ticked her off. It was a great sound bite imo.
Her email address is: mjmelone@sptimes.com. I did mention free republic so I'll let you know if she responds in the paper.
RC, you did great... IMO, it is misconduct to side with one party wherein the other party can end up very dead and has no independent party looking out for her interest. I'm calling the Commission tomorrow just so that they'll have to explain their function again instead of just taking up space at a desk. "Now why isn't Judge Greer guilty of misconduct? I want specifics beyond "can't be a court ruling."
Guess it's time to call J. Greer's J. Assistant directly. That number can probably be found at the Pinellas County Clerk of Courts web site or by calling the main number and being polite.
More to do tomorrow for Terri. Fregards, floriduh voter
If I were her parents, I'd be pushing the criminal angle as well.
Terri is discussed as a "case", not as a human being. That is what is so cold. FV
It's time to put pressure on the national media to cover this. After I call all the officials, my next move is national media. Everyone else, please take 15 minutes out of your day to do the same. Thanks, FV
Think of all the disabled people who can be taken off of life-support. What a savings to the insurance companies!!! They must think Greer is wonderful!!
The issue for the trial court was therefore not that Ms. Schiavo lacked any voluntary action. Rather, the court believed Ms. Schiavo had not demonstrated sufficient actions to prove "cognitive function" because her actions were not "consistent" or "reproducible." This is simply not the definition the Florida Legislature and the U.S. Supreme Court have ascribed to "persistent vegetative state." "Voluntary action ... of any kind" does not require the person repeat the same action "consistently." The trial court committed a clear error of law by adding this new requirement.There is an inherent danger in imposing such subjective criteria to this important threshold determination. The trial court's new requirement of "consistent" and "reproducible" action begs the question how much "action" Ms. Schiavo would have to exhibit to prove she is not in a persistent vegetative state (and concomitantly not cede her right to maintain life support). Would three voluntary "actions" be enough? Would ten? Moreover, how would courts determine whether such actions are "consistent"? How much variance, if any, would be allowed?
I mean, Judge Greer, his team, and hubby are breaking some major commandments.
(that being said, I acknowledge that I am a sinner too).
THE 2ND DCA NEEDS SOME EMAILS AND PHONE CALLS. THEY ARE TO BLAME FOR THIS TOO.
It's a good old boy's network. The 2nd DCA needs to hear from us. The headaches they receive from us is nothing compared to what they want to do to Terri.
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