Appeals court rules judge can stay on Schiavo case
The 2nd District Court of Appeal rejects arguments by the governor's lawyers, who claim Douglas Baird is biased against "Terri's Law."
By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE
Published December 11, 2003
An appeals court on Wednesday refused to remove the Pinellas-Pasco circuit judge presiding over the lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of "Terri's Law."
The 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected arguments by lawyers for Gov. Jeb Bush that the presiding judge is biased against the law even before he has ruled on its constitutionality.
The measure allowed Bush on Oct. 21 to order doctors to reinsert brain-damaged Terri Schiavo's feeding tube after she went six days without food and water.
Bush's lawyers had cited comments by Judge Douglas Baird at a hearing last month where he called the law "presumptively unconstitutional" and said it violated Mrs. Schiavo's right to privacy.
At the time, Baird was careful to tell lawyers that he had not made up his mind about the law's constitutionality, despite his comments.
Baird refused to recuse himself from the case last month after a request by Bush's lawyers. His decision was quickly appealed to the 2nd District Court.
But the appeals court said it saw no evidence that Baird is prejudiced against the law or that his comments were out of line. The court said Baird's comments weren't sufficient to lead anyone to conclude he is biased.
Bush harshly criticized the court's ruling.
"It appears the court has determined that prejudging a case before evidence is presented is acceptable in Florida, which is the same error made by the trial court," Bush said in a statement.
"A judge who demonstrated his or her presumption that a defendant was guilty until proven otherwise would be disqualified from ruling in that case. We believe the same principle holds true in constitutional challenges, regardless of issues involved," the governor said.
George Felos, an attorney representing Mrs. Schiavo's husband, Michael Schiavo, said he was pleased with the decision.
He said the appeals court usually rules without comment in requests to disqualify the judge. Felos said it was significant the court decided to issue a written opinion.
"I think the court of appeal was as emphatic as it could be in declaring that Judge Baird's actions were appropriate and did not constitute bias," Felos said.
Mrs. Schiavo, 40, has been kept alive by a feeding tube for nearly 14 years. Many doctors say she is in a persistent vegetative state and cannot recover. Her parents disagree with that diagnosis.
Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, say Mrs. Schiavo might benefit from therapy. Her husband said she cannot recover and would not want to be kept alive by artificial means.
The next hearing on "Terri's Law" is scheduled for Dec. 19.
