Posted on 03/25/2005 7:55:28 PM PST by West Coast Conservative
Hours after a judge ordered that Terri Schiavo was not to be removed from her hospice, a team of state agents were en route to seize her and have her feeding tube reinserted -- but they stopped short when local police told them they would enforce the judge's order, The Herald has learned.
Agents of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement told police in Pinellas Park, the small town where Schiavo lies at Hospice Woodside, on Thursday that they were on the way to take her to a hospital to resume her feeding.
For a brief period, local police, who have officers at the hospice to keep protesters out, prepared for what sources called ``a showdown.''
In the end, the squad from the FDLE and the Department of Children & Families backed down, apparently concerned about confronting local police outside the hospice.
''We told them that unless they had the judge with them when they came, they were not going to get in,'' said a source with the local police.
''The FDLE called to say they were en route to the scene,'' said an official with the city police who requested anonymity. ``When the sheriff's department and our department told them they could not enforce their order, they backed off.''
The incident,known only to a few and related to The Herald by three different sources involved in Thursday's events, underscores the intense emotion and murky legal terrain that the Schiavo case has created. It also shows that agencies answering directly to Gov. Jeb Bush had planned to use a wrinkle in Florida law that would have allowed them to legally get around the judge's order. The exception in the law allows public agencies to freeze a judge's order whenever an agency appeals it.
(Excerpt) Read more at miami.com ...
Oh, yea, this is a real political winner for Jeb.
He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't - that's a winner.
If he doesn't move in now, everyone screams he could have saved her, so he's responsible for her death.
If he does move in, he breaks the law and everyone else screams he's interferring in a personal matter as, after all, isn't this just a case of a loving husband trying to relieve the suffering of his dear sweet beloved wife?
Remember, 60-70% of the population sees nothing wrong in the court order execution of a disabled woman by starvation - that alone should tell you where the real problem lies in this country, as our government is just a reflection of us.
And, even if he does go in and get her, how many days before it's all back in the courts again - four?
True, but not only does the Govenor have the State Police at his disposal, he also has the National Guard. Don't tell me he doesn't have enough authority to make a squad of county deputies back down and relinquish their side arms if they prove insubordinate. Besides which, are you suggesting that the county executive holds more authority than the chief executive of the state in which they reside? The governor does have authority over those deputies in his state, period. It doesn't matter whether he hired them or pays them. That's just absurd. That's like saying the President of the United States does not have authority over the National Guard from each of the fifty states because he does not hire them or pay them. A couple of people have put forth this argument and it is dead wrong.
Thank you, Lisa.
But just as an example,which order of a court do you think is so eggregious that a polieman would be justifird to refuse to carry it out? Are there any, or must all orders be obeyed no matter what?
Where can I get some of what you're smoking (or inhaling through your nose)?
BB62
yes, you me and darkwolf agree..........cooler heads should prevail and emotions are now throwing caution into the wind and overruliing our clear thinking, law abiding minds...like it or not, we can't just chuck the law and take over......in that case there is a plasma TV that I"ll be stealing tonight
I have never been more convinced that people watch too friggin' much TV.
Lord, please forgive our nation, and we who have failed You so miserably.
You're nuts. I've prayed and fasted. Are you some holier thant thou?
And his power to call out the FLA NG would apply in this case, how, exactly?
This isn't the old west. You want to find someone to blame? Look in the mirror, it's your fault and my fault and most of all it the fault of those who don't bother to vote.
I can't stand the disloyalty being shown here, there is no way you are going to convince me that you've been a republican all your life and then turn around and savage the people who are doing everything they can to get this resolved without causing a major Constitutional crisis.
Yes, Terri's life is important, every soldier, sailor and Marine's life is important, every police officer who lays his life on the line protecting your backside and mine, is important. If you want to go down there and storm the building, be my guest, but don't go backstabbing Jeb Bush because he doesn't do what you aren't doing.
You're right about the two post and sorry fella, they gave it away.
Around here, you get respect the old fashioned way - you eeeeearn it.
It's not automatically given.
If he issued such an order, it should be grounds for impeachment then. It would be somewhat similar to an appellate court ordering the Navy not to assist the President. Governor Bush should have simply ignored the order. He should also have him arrested for obstruction of a State Official.
Better to know this now & not in 2008 or 2012.
What makes you so hot that you can cowboy up on the local LEO's? Get a parking ticket recently and need someone to blame?
I just don't see how we can kill a woman, who with food and water will keep on living. It may not be the life I would want, but I cannot say for sure I would want to die if my relatives continued to come see me and remain involved.
I consider this a very dark episode. This is not your average brain did woman, whose family has all come to terms with the fact that she is already essentially dead. Her parents, brother, sisters, inlaws all think she should live.
Only one jackass who has custody wants her dead. Heaven and earth are moved so his will is done. Wow.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.