Untested Legal Approaches Seek Relief for Terri Schiavo; Allegations of Very Recent Abuses Surface
Pending lawsuits name new targets, demand local Police and State Atty offices comply with State, Federal Law. Recent abuses have triggered a new wave of lawsuits in various venues.
(PRWEB) January 23 2004 - After the Governor's recent 7-0 loss at Florida's
High Court, The Florida Supreme Court recently split 4-3 on surprise last-minute
filing in Terri Schiavo Case, as described in a press release of Friday, 25
February 2005:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb212613.htm
mirrored
at:
http://hometown.aol.com/gww1210/myhomepage/PressRelease02-25-2005.html
and:
http://www.geocities.com/gordon_watts32313/PressRelease02-25-2005.html
Related:
A "joint press release" of 23 outraged citizens, who speak out on the
"shortcomings" of 'Terri's Law' to protect -and which is current as of August
05, 2004, can be found at:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/8/prweb146899.php --The
"original" release of January 23, 2004, is as follows:
Lakeland, Florida
resident and nonlawyer, Gordon Watts, has filed petitions in several courts
seeking, among other things, a Writ of Mandamus compelling the local police and
a state's attorney's office to comply with state statutory requirements to
investigate alleged abuses of another state resident, Theresa Marie "Terri"
Schindler-Schiavo. State Laws and case law allow any state resident to seek
enforcement of State Laws, but what makes Watts' petitions different from all
those previously filed in this case is the target of these lawsuits.
No
other lawyer to date, including famed Schindler family attorney, Pat Anderson
-or lawyers for Florida Governor Jeb Bush, have sought legal action against
either the local police or the state's attorney's office. The only recent
attempt to use an enforcement mandamus named Jeb Bush, as the state's top cop,
seeking to order him to reinsert Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.
However,
State Law, which makes no exception for "PVS" patients, makes it a second degree
felony to withhold food or medical treatment from an elderly or disabled adult,
and State Law also requires police to investigate allegations of abuse, which
are alleged to have just recently occurred when Michael Schiavo went beyond
court orders regarding removal of Terri's feeding tube and denied his disabled
wife food and medical treatment, this past October.
Watts' petitions, to
date, have not gotten much press, but local legal scholars claim that the local
police would be a more logical target of such a lawsuit, as they answer local
calls to service, unlike the case with the governor. Watts, has also filed
Amicus papers, supporting Bush, in the unrelated "Terri's Law" case, and heard
before a different judge. Watts feels that his complaints will not get a fair
day in court without media scrutiny and pressure on the courts from other
interests, such as disability groups, various religious affiliations, or
conservative "Rule of Law," and such grass roots activities as picketing and
lobbying lawmakers to convene an investigation of the abuses.
Watts has
had Oral Arguments before the Florida Second District Court of Appeal in an
unrelated case this past October 08, 2003, as well as experience in the Fla. 1st
DCA and Florida's Supreme Court, and is the only person known to have filed
formal petitions for relief with the United Nations Human Rights
Commission.
Details and online copies of most of his current court
filings can be accessed at the non-profit Online Newspaper, The Resister, at two
mirrors:
Main Site:
http://hometown.aol.com/gww1210
Geocities Mirror:
http://www.GeoCities.com/Gordon_Watts32313
Court briefs
may also be obtained for a fee from the respective courts.
Watts seeks to
obtain the enforcement of current state and federal laws, not currently being
challenged in the courts as is "Terri's Law."
Updated/Current
release:
Many citizens Decry Weaknesses in Fla. 'Terri’s Law' ; 23 Outraged
citizens give statements and sign with full contact information to validate it's
not a mere "online petition" re Terri Schiavo case: (Aug. 2004)
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/8/prweb146899.htm
or: http://www.emediawire.com/printer.php?prid=146899
Related
releases of others:
Imbalanced reporting on Schiavo:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/8/prweb100246.htm
or: http://www.emediawire.com/printer.php?prid=100246
Florida
Pinellas Pasco Judicial Race:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/8/prweb145909.htm
or: http://www.emediawire.com/printer.php?prid=145909
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/1/prweb100180.htm