Posted on 08/27/2003 10:33:14 AM PDT by NYer
CLEARWATER - A judge on Tuesday quickly rejected Gov. Jeb Bush's request for a fresh look at whether Terri Schiavo's feeding tube should be removed.
``I read [the request from Bush] because it came from the governor and I respect his position,'' Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer said. ``Beyond that, it is going in the file.''
Greer received a letter from Bush asking that he appoint an independent guardian to investigate whether Schiavo would want to be taken off life support.
Schiavo's husband, Michael, and her parents have been battling for years over whether she should be allowed to die. The 39-year-old woman has been in a comalike state since suffering heart failure in 1990.
``This case represents the disturbing result of a severe family disagreement in extremely trying circumstances,'' Bush wrote to Greer. ``Emotions are high, accusations abound, and at the heart of this public and private maelstrom is a young woman incapable of speaking for herself.''
But appeals courts have already looked at the guardian issue and decided that Greer fulfills that role, the judge said Tuesday. Also, Greer said, he is under specific orders from the 2nd District Court of Appeal to schedule the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube.
In his letter, Bush said he realizes he has no role in the process of deciding whether Schiavo would want to be kept alive with no realistic chance of improvement. But after receiving more than 27,000 pieces of e-mail, ``I feel compelled to write,'' the governor said.
Greer said he is treating the governor's letter like the many others he has received and will place it in the case file.
Greer also summarily rejected Michael Schiavo's request to discontinue medical treatment for a severe infection that resulted in his wife's hospitalization this week.
In the three years Greer has been holding trials and hearings on Michael Schiavo's request for permission to remove his wife's feeding tube, the issue of withholding medical care for any illnesses Terri Schiavo might suffer has not come up, the judge said. The issue would require another trial, the judge said.
Michael Schiavo said Bush's letter was inappropriate.
``The governor has deliberately twisted the facts in this case in an apparent effort to kowtow to his `right-to-life' political supporters,'' Michael Schiavo said. ``This has nothing to do with him. He should stay out of it.''
Michael Schiavo said his in- laws, Bob and Mary Schindler, orchestrated a campaign to send e-mail to the governor through a Web site that also raises money from right-to-life supporters. He accused the Schindlers of using his wife's Catholic faith to their own ends.
``Suddenly, they are on the religious kick. They never went to church a day in their lives,'' he said. ``I believe in God and so did Terri, but they are out to push it on people.''
Bob Schindler said his son- in-law is forgetting he and his wife sent Terri and her siblings to Catholic schools and that the Schiavo wedding was performed by a priest.
``It [Michael Schiavo's comment] is really upsetting to my wife because she is a better Catholic than I am,'' he said.
The Web site has drawn a good response, Schindler said. Any donations it generates are going to family attorney Pat Anderson, who had been working for free, he said.
In a third development Tuesday, Greer denied Michael Schiavo's request for an immediate hearing to set a date for removing his wife's feeding tube. That matter will be handled at a hearing previously scheduled for Sept. 11 to decide whether Michael Schiavo can ban a priest from visiting his wife, the judge said.
Michael Schiavo's attorney said that Terri Schiavo's right to die has been thoroughly litigated and that it is time for the courts to call a halt to endless delay tactics on the part of the Schindlers.
``There ought to be a prompt hearing, and there ought to be a prompt decision,'' attorney George Felos said.
Reporter David Sommer can be reached at (727) 799-7413.
What a piece of work!
This judge is above the law for she is a judge and thus honored, above our Constitution or any of our laws.
Wow, he took a WHOLE 24 HOURS to consider a request not to terminate someone's life before rejecting it. King Solomon would be impressed with such carefully thought out reasoning.
We need somebody who's talented enough to put all the Terri threads together. Please ping someone for us. Phone numbers are links to Terri's web site are on various threads. Thanks in advance, floriduh voter
Jeb said as much in his letter. But he still, based on constituent response, asked the judge to take another look at this case.
A lot of the judges are still good old boys around these parts. I was surmising yesterday that Greer was acting like a democrat. He should be voted out of office if he's on a ballot but that will be in a few years. Can Judges be impeached?
George?
WOW. Talk about venomous hystrionics. The woman's parents don't want her husband to order her killed. Governor Bush acted honorably.
"He accused the Schindlers of using his wife's Catholic faith to their own ends."
THAT is uncalled for. This idiot's behavior is EVIL. It's beyond self centered. He is PERVERSE.
"Bob Schindler said his son- in-law is forgetting he and his wife sent Terri and her siblings to Catholic schools and that the Schiavo wedding was performed by a priest"
My heart goes out to her parents. I can't imagine going through this.
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