BlogWood: MT Archives

Jeb! calls in DCF goons to snatch Schiavo

UPDATE: DCF attempt blocked by Judge Greer. (end of update)

The Florida Senate was unable to pass the “Terri’s Law II” bill today. As mentioned earlier, Republicans are unable to come to a consensus on this issue, and it appears that many of the original “Republican 9" stood firm in their opposition.

So the Senate has told Jeb! that enough is enough, but Jeb! aint done yet: once again, he is bringing in the Florida Department of Children and Families to do an end run around the courts.

DCF has a hotline which anyone can use to make abuse allegations. Once the allegations are received, DCF must act on them. DCF claims to have received “new” allegations of abuse in the Schiavo case, and is using this as an excuse to seize Terri Schaivo and transport her to a hospital.

The soap opera has not completely played out yet, but Michael Schiavo’s attorney has filed a request with the court to block any action by DCF. It’s unclear what will happen if US Marshalls show up in order to prevent DCF and Florida Department of Law Enforcement goons from snatching Terri Schiavo from her death bed, but a showdown could be imminent.

DCF considers removing Schiavo from hospice by force

State officials say they are considering removing Terri Schiavo from the 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 Hadi, 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."

Hadi said that DCF would have to file a petition in order to remove Schiavo, but "it doesn't mean that we'd have to have judicial approval in advance of taking the action if we believed it met the threshold for doing it."

But elder law and guardianship experts say such DCF is misinterpreting the law.

"My belief is that this would be a misuse of the statute," said Scott Solkoff, a Boynton Beach attorney and chairman of the elder law division of the Florida Bar. "What the state is doing is they're using yet another legal strategy that may or may not have grounds to attack what they believe to be a mistake from the judicial branch."

Solkoff said he was unsure if such an intervention would hold up in court. Under the law, the department must petition the court for an order authorizing emergency protective services for the adult within 24 hours of removing the adult, and a hearing must be held within four days of any intervention.

"Going under Chapter 415 is no different than the Congress subpoenaing Terri Schiavo. It's a silly maneuver designed to accomplish a political purpose."

The law says emergency medical treatment can be given to the vulnerable adult as long as "such treatment does not violate a known health care advance directive prepared by the vulnerable adult."

Schiavo did not have such a ruling, and Hadi said seven years of court rulings backing Schiavo's husband, Michael, in his contention that she did not wish to be kept alive artificially would not stop DCF from taking action.

"We're not compelled to look at prior judicial proceedings," Hadi said. "What we're compelled to look at is the presenting circumstance and any allegation of abuse and neglect that we've received. So we have to deal with those and fulfill our statutory responsibility, notwithstanding anything else that may have gone on before."

Florida Senate rejects bill to keep Terri Schiavo alive

Shortly after the state Senate defeated a bill aimed at keeping Terri Schiavo alive, a state judge issued an emergency order to keep the Department of Children & Families from taking any action that would reconnect the woman's feeding tube.

George Felos, the attorney for Michael Schiavo, asked Pinellas Circuit Judge George Greer to issue the order Wednesday while the judge considers a request from DCF and Gov. Bush to take custody of Terri Schiavo.

The request from DCF and the governor cited new allegations of neglect and challenges Schiavo's diagnosis as being in a persistent vegetative state, based on the opinion of a neurologist working for the state.

Obviously, these new claims of abuse are about as valid as the Nobel nomination of the great quack Dr. William Hammesfahr - he was nominated for a non-existent “Nobel Peace Prize in Medicine” by a person who is not eligible to nominate anyone. Kinda like you nominating me for the “Nobel Peace Prize in Blogging” so that I could put my “Nobel Nomination” on my resume.