Posted on 03/23/2005 2:34:59 PM PST by gopwinsin04
State officials say they are considering removing Terri Schiavo from hospice, by force if necessary, despite numerous court orders upholding the removal of the artificial nutrition tube that has kept her alive for 15 years.
Lucy Hadl, secretary of the Department of Children and Families, said Wednesday morning that her staff is relying on a state law that gives the department the authority to intervene on behalf of a vulnerable adult who is 'suffering from abuse or neglect that presents a risk of death or serious physical injury.'
Hadl said that the DCF would have to file a petition in order to remove Schiavo, but that 'it doesn't mean we'd have to have judicial approval in advance of taking the action if we believed it met the threshold for doing it.'
Hadl said that seven years of court rulings backing Schiavo's husband Michael, in his contention that Terri Schiavo did not wish to be kept alive artificially would not stop the DCF from taking action.
'We're not compelled to look at prior judicial proceedings,' Hadl said.
What we are compelled to look at is the presenting circumstances and any allegiations of abuse and neglect that we have recieved. So we have to deal with those and fufill out statutory responsibility.'
(Excerpt) Read more at palmbeachpost.com ...
(a) Emergency entry of premises.--If, upon arrival at the scene of the incident, consent is not obtained for access to the alleged victim for purposes of conducting a protective investigation under this subsection and the department has reason to believe that the situation presents a risk of death or serious physical injury, a representative of the department and a law enforcement officer may forcibly enter the premises. If, after obtaining access to the alleged victim, it is determined through a personal assessment of the situation that no emergency exists and there is no basis for emergency protective services intervention under this subsection, the department shall terminate the emergency entry.
(b) Emergency removal from premises.--If it appears that the vulnerable adult lacks the capacity to consent to emergency protective services and that the vulnerable adult, from the personal observations of the representative of the department and specified medical personnel or law enforcement officers, is likely to incur a risk of death or serious physical injury if such person is not immediately removed from the premises, then the representative of the department shall transport or arrange for the transportation of the vulnerable adult to an appropriate medical or protective services facility in order to provide emergency protective services. Law enforcement personnel have a duty to transport when medical transportation is not available or needed and the vulnerable adult presents a threat of injury to self or others. If the vulnerable adult's caregiver or guardian is present, the protective investigator must seek the caregiver's or guardian's consent pursuant to subsection (4) before the vulnerable adult may be removed from the premises, unless the protective investigator suspects that the vulnerable adult's caregiver or guardian has caused the abuse, neglect, or exploitation. The department shall, within 24 hours after providing or arranging for emergency removal of the vulnerable adult, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, petition the court for an order authorizing emergency protective services.
(c) Emergency medical treatment.--If, upon admission to a medical facility, it is the opinion of the medical staff that immediate medical treatment is necessary to prevent serious physical injury or death, and that such treatment does not violate a known health care advance directive prepared by the vulnerable adult, the medical facility may proceed with treatment to the vulnerable adult. If a person with legal authority to give consent for the provision of medical treatment to a vulnerable adult has not given or has refused to give such consent, examination and treatment must be limited to reasonable examination of the patient to determine the medical condition of the patient and treatment reasonably necessary to alleviate the emergency medical condition or to stabilize the patient pending court determination of the department's petition authorizing emergency protective services. Any person may seek an expedited judicial intervention under rule 5.900 of the Florida Probate Rules concerning medical treatment procedures.
Felos is Michael Schiavo's lawyer, and a leading light of the Hemlock Society.
And so can judges. Seen that lately?
Oh, you mean how Greer has flaunted law after law? The DCF IS FOLLOWING THE LAW BY ACTING!
Life isn't fair, and life doesn't throw the punches we all wish it did. But we must not allow someone who doesn't meet our standards of rationality to be literally starved and thrown away. This isn't about the right to die with dignity, this is a case someone choosing to kill another with the court's blessing.
However way this ends, I encourage everybody to send in donations to the Schlinders. Their legal costs must be extensive.
Then WHOSE police are enforcing Terri's death ordeal??
I didn';t know the Judiciary had any except process servers??
Pardon my misspells.
This whole thing is a mess: "Hard cases make bad law"
Me too. For the first time in my 40+ years I'm ashamed of my Country and no longer have the same feelings about the good of our people. While I'm sad for Terri, I'm also sad for what we have lost.
I think you're asking if they don't have to follow each other why do we have to follow any of them? Because if we don't, the executive comes and arrests us. :(
Thank you for sharing that!
From what I hear of the effectiveness of restraining orders, I hope you never need one against anyone.
just heard on fox news that Greer does not have that authority!
Don't bank on my words...I'm not a lawyer. But the Legislative Branch has empowered the DCF with certain abilities to act....just as they do police, just as they do others. A judge may give additional powers, i.e., search warrants, etc.
But, to look at it another way, can a judge issue a blanket order to county sheriffs to not patrol certain areas in a certain area of the county? (I don't know the answer to that, but that would seem unlikely.) Would that not be considered an abuse of judicial power?
This is not a hard case. It's a very easy case, marred by extreme corruption.
Yes, that's a problem, too, although we did set up the judicial branch to be the employees who rule on the facts and law. If they're all free to ignore each other, then the guy with most guns wins.
That's not exactly how I envision this country being best governed.
exactly right (#265). More and more I need to rein myself in, and remember that to wish horrible things on MS just gives in to the evil he practices and perpetuates it. Satan IS loose in Florida!
Yeas - 18 Nays - 21 Not Voting - 1 VA VO MEMBER VA VO MEMBER VA VO MEMBER _ N Alexander _ N Dockery _ Y Peaden _ N Argenziano _ Y Fasano _ Y Posey _ N Aronberg _ Y Garcia _ Y Pruitt _ Y Atwater _ N Geller _ N Rich _ Y Baker _ Y Haridopolos _ N Saunders _ N Bennett _ N Hill _ Y Sebesta _ N Bullard _ N Jones _ N Siplin _ N Campbell _ N King _ N Smith _ N Carlton _ N Klein _ Y Villalobos _ Y Clary _ Y Lawson _ Y Webster _ Y Constantine _ Y Lee _ N Wilson _ Y Crist _ N Lynn _ Y Wise _ EX Dawson _ N Margolis _ Y Diaz de la Portilla _ N Miller Presiding: Lee President: Tom Lee 'VA'=Vote After Roll Call 'VO'=Chamber Vote
NAMES IN BOLD ARE REPUBLICANS WHO VOTED AGAINST TERRI SCHIAVO...
LINKS TO THEIR WEBSITES....
Senator JD Alexander Majority Whip
Senator Michael S. "Mike" Bennett
Yes, in Florida! A black judge by the name of Alcee Hastings was impeached and removed from office. I think he now has a seat in the US House of Representatives.
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