Free Republic

A federal judge who declined to review the lawsuit Terri Schaivo's parents filed to prevent her painful 13 day starvation death may have had a conflict of interest. Federal District Court Judge James Whittemore of Tampa was charged by Congress to take up the case and issue a temporary restraining order preventing Terri's death. He refused. However, it appears Judge Whittemore, who became the subject of condemnation from Congressional leaders after his decision, possible should have recused himself from the case. Whittemore served in the 13th Circuit Court of Hillsborough County, Florida from 1990 to 1999. According to a report...

Judge is considering ruling from late hearing PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (AP) - Another court, and another decision pending in the bitter dispute over the removal of the feeding tube from a brain-damaged Florida woman. A federal judge in Tampa says he'll work overnight to issue a ruling following a hearing on an emergency request to have Terri Schiavo's feeding tube reconnected. It was removed Friday. Tonight's hearing follows a refusal by the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. And Florida's Supreme court issued a late ruling backing a lower court judge's refusal to allow the state to take custody of Schiavo....

Judge George Greer ruled that the State of Florida has no right to take custody of Terri Schiavo, which ruling came hours after an appeal by Terri's parents to re-insert the feeding tube was refused by the U.S. Supreme Court. Meanwhile, another hearing was scheduled tonight before US District Judge James D. Whittemore .. the same judge who previously heard and denied the request subsequent to the 'de novo' intention of the law past last weekend by the Congress and signed by President Bush, in an effort to confirm that no stone was left unturned before Terri would endure legally...

STARVATION: DAY 8 Jeb Bush not likely to ride to rescue Florida governor indicates he won't defy court order Posted: March 25, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Those hoping Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will step forward to save Terri Schiavo from imminent, court-ordered starvation death are likely to be disappointed, based on his comments to a group of reporters following county court Judge George Greer's ruling against the state's effort to take custody of the brain-injured woman at the center of a worldwide euthanasia controversy. While Bush reiterated his motivation to save Schiavo, based on new evidence that...

According to a few Members of the US House of Representatives, I was incorrect in my assertion on Wednesday that the bill signed into law early Monday morning (Public Law 109-3) simply gave Terri Schiavo's parents access to the Federal Courts and did not require the reinsertion of her feeding tube. The "few Members" of the House of Reps include Speaker Dennis Hastert, Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Majority Whip Roy Blount, and Judiciary Committee chairman James Sensenbrenner as well as Florida Congressman Dave Weldon (who is an M.D.) submitted a "friend of the court" brief asserting the legislative intent of...

At this writing, Terri Schiavo has been denied food and water for five days. Her fate hangs in the balance, having slipped yet further upon the decision of U.S. District Court Judge James Whittemore, a Clinton appointee, who took his time before refusing to order her feeding tube to be replaced so that she might begin to take nourishment and water once again. Whittemore can pride himself, in keeping with the twisted precepts of the counterculture, not only for assenting to her condemnation, but also for wasting precious time in his premeditated (a word used with full understanding of its...

The intense fight in the Terri Schiavo case is injecting another explosive element into the coming Senate showdown over President Bush's choices for federal judgeships as well as into future battles to fill Supreme Court vacancies. The Republican-led effort to circumvent a state court order to disconnect Ms. Schiavo's feeding tube, combined with a federal judge's refusal on Tuesday morning to countermand that order, has crystallized issues in the judicial debate in a compelling and singular public way, Republicans and Democrats alike said. Conservatives, already disdainful of the way judges have handled subjects like same-sex marriage and abortion, say the...

THE WASHINGTON TIMES A federal judge refused yesterday to restore Terri Schiavo's feeding tubes, prompting the parents of the brain-damaged woman to take their case immediately to an appeals court. U.S. District Judge James Whittemore ruled against reinserting the feeding tube, which was removed Friday under a state court order pursued by Mrs. Schiavo's husband, Michael. Judge Whittemore said state courts have handled the case sufficiently. "Theresa Schiavo's life and liberty interests were adequately protected by the extensive process provided in the state courts," he said.

Schiavo Thoughts: Judge Whittemore's Order ExplainedAuthor: Matt Conigliaro I previously posted Judge Whittemore's order, and it's here. In short, the order concludes that the Schindlers have identified no violation of Terri's constitutional rights. For those looking for more information, here's my extended summary: Judge Whittemore observed that the Schindlers are seeking a temporary injunction -- one mandating the reinsertion of the feeding tube. There are several requirements that must be met to obtain a temporary injunction. The court found the requirements applicable here to be met except the most important one: a showing of a substantial case on the merits...

(CNSNews.com) - A federal judge in Tampa, Fla., has refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube and he said key aspects of the family's case are "without merit." Terri's parents immediately appealed the ruling to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, but by all accounts, the outlook is grim for the brain-damaged woman at the center of the legal battle. (CNSNews.com) - Judge James D. Whittemore has engaged in a gross abuse of judicial power, the National Right to Life Committee said on Tuesday. "Giving not even the slightest deference to an Act of Congress,...

U.S. District Court Judge James Whittemore has defied Congress by not staying Terri Schiavo's starvation execution for the time it takes him to hold a full hearing on her case, a leading Republican senator said Tuesday. "You have judicial tyranny here," Santorum told WABC Radio in New York. "Congress passed a law that said that you had to look at this case. He simply thumbed his nose at Congress." "What the statute that [Whittemore] was dealing with said was that he shall hold a trial de novo," the Pennsylvania Republican explained. "That means he has to hold a new trial....

Judge won't order Schiavo's tube returned Tampa, FL, Mar. 22 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Florida refused Tuesday morning to order the reinsertion of a feeding tube into brain-damaged Terry Schiavo. The ruling in Tampa by U.S. District Judge James Whittemore came after Congress and President Bush enacted legislation early Monday to allow federal courts to review the controversial case. * * * Attorneys for Schiavo's parents said they would immediately file an appeal at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, CNN reported.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- A federal judge on Tuesday refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, denying an emergency request from the brain-damaged woman's parents. U.S. District Judge James Whittemore said the 41-year-old woman's parents had not established a "substantial likelihood of success" at trial on the merits of their arguments. Whittemore wrote that Terri Schiavo's "life and liberty interests" had been protected by Florida courts. Despite "these difficult and time strained circumstances," he wrote, "this court is constrained to apply the law to the issues before it." Rex Sparklin, an attorney with the law firm representing...

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - 0321schiavo-am A federal judge on Tuesday refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, denying an emergency request from the brain-damaged woman's parents. The ruling by U.S. District Judge James Whittemore comes after feverish action by President Bush and Congress on legislation allowing her contentious case to be reviewed by federal courts. --

WASHINGTON—Despite warnings that Terri Schiavo is nearing death, a Florida federal judge has slowed the frenetic pace of events surrounding reinsertion of a tube to feed the woman whose plight has become a symbol of America's wrenching right-to-die debate. U.S. District Judge James Whittemore yesterday reserved judgment in the case, which drew more than 260 American legislators and President George W. Bush back to Washington for an extraordinary Palm Sunday debate, leading to yesterday's court hearing. Bush was awakened at 1:11 a.m. to sign a bill moving the case to federal court after it passed a two-thirds majority in the...

Just heard on Fox....so sad.

U.S. District Court Judge James D. Whittemore, during his tenure on the federal bench since being appointed in 1999 by President Bill Clinton, has faithfully adhered to the "The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act". Indeed, he fined Mylon L. Stockton $90,000 and Mark A. Borinsky $10,000, while sentencing both men to one year's probation, for having felled a pine tree on Borinsky's property in Venice, Florida, that had a visible eagle's nest in it. Apart from being able to see it, both men had additionally been advised by a neighbor of the location of the eagle's nest. Nonetheless, they...

Judge Whittemore in court this afternoon requested of Schindler attorney David Gibbs a response to a brief by Schiavo attorney Felos questioning the constitutionality of legislation passed last night by U.S. Congress and signed by President Bush. Acknowledging that Terri’s life hangs in the balance, Judge Whittemore said to Gibbs that he acknowledged the “catch-22” he was being placed in, but he would like Gibbs to respond to the Felos brief before giving his ruling. Whittemore offered U.S. attorney Zimmerman the opportunity to join Gibbs in defending the constitutionality of the congressional action, but refused to require the justice department...