"The judge made a determination of the merits of the suit and accordingly did not grant injunctive relief. Nothing more." And what does de novo mean in the Congressional bill?
It means that the judge is supposed to make his decision without regard for any earlier court proceedings, except to the extent that transcripts of such proceedings may be admissible as evidence in certain limitted circumstances (e.g. "Michael Schiavo, according to this 1992 court transcript you stated that your wife would probably live 50+ years and you would care for her as long as you lived. Why did you not mention your wife's wishes then?")
If the judge was really pursuing the case de novo, he would have to agree to the preliminary injunction because it is Michael's job to show that feeding should be denied.
what de novo means everywhere else.