TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Supreme Court's decision to overturn the state law that has kept Terri Schiavo alive did not surprise opponents or supporters
Even its staunchest defenders in the Legislature knew that the hastily-approved, one-page bill passed last fall faced an uphill fight in court - even on a court with two justices appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush.
Bush cast the Schiavo controversy in moral terms Thursday.
"I'm disappointed, not for political reasons or for the separation of power reasons. I respect the judgment of the court in that regard," Bush said. "I'm disappointed for the moral reasons of the taking of innocent life, and without having, I don't think, a full hearing on the facts of what her intents were."
Opponents said a full hearing on the facts is what the Legislature failed to hold last October. In less than a day, lawmakers passed House Bill 35E, which gave Bush the power to reverse a judge's decision and order Schiavo's feeding tube reconnected.
House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, R-Plant City, said the decision was mostly about the judiciary safeguarding its independence.
"I think it's tragic for those of us who believe we should err on the side of life," Byrd said. "But I thought it was not unexpected."
The push for legislative action came largely from Byrd, who last fall was embarking on a U.S. Senate campaign. The case brought him a bounty of national TV exposure. As he told Fox's Sean Hannity last October: "I'll be in session every day if I can save someone's life, Sean."
Senate President Jim King, R-Jacksonville, said again on Thursday that he regretted passing the law. But he said the pressure was so overwhelming, he did not heed the advice of senators who warned him it would be struck down by the courts.
"If we stayed away, we would have been accused of killing Terri Schiavo," King said. "We were pressured into it. Johnnie Byrd was running for the U.S. Senate ... he made it a cause."
King, who has long championed living wills and "death with dignity" legislation, demanded a narrowly crafted law that applied only to the Schiavo case. He said the court's decision reinforces the need for the Senate to live up to its reputation as a deliberative body.
Passage of Terri's Law came amid a flood of more than 160,000 e-mails from people all over the country, many of whom framed the complex case in stark, life-or-death terms.
"This is a human life we are talking about here," Linda Crosby of Phoenix e-mailed Bush last Oct. 21. "Please don't let Terri's blood be on your hands."
Republican Rep. Randy Johnson of Celebration said he found it impossible to vote against Terri's Law.
"It's important to remember how the question was asked," Johnson said. "This lady had been removed from life support and was starving to death and oh, by the way, her parents are dedicated to giving their lives to take care of her. ... It was a question you can't say no to."
Some did say no.
Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, one of 24 House members voting against the law, said he knew it was flawed after seeing language that created what he called an "uber-governor" with power to overrule the other branches.
"You should never let emotion overwhelm the rule of law," he said.
Times staff writer Lucy Morgan contributed to this report.
TERRI'S LAW
The language of chapter 2003-418:
Section 1. (1) The governor shall have the authority to issue a one-time stay to prevent the withholding of nutrition and hydration from a patient if, as of Oct. 15, 2003:
(a) That patient has no written advance directive;
(b) The court has found that patient to be in a persistent vegetative state;
(c) That patient has had nutrition and hydration withheld; and
(d) A member of that patient's family has challenged the withholding of nutrition and hydration.
(2) The governor's authority to issue the stay expires 15 days after the effective date of this act, and the expiration of the authority does not impact the validity or the effect of any stay issued pursuant to this act. The governor may lift the stay authorized under this act at any time. A person may not be held civilly liable and is not subject to regulatory or disciplinary sanctions for taking any action to comply with a stay issued by the governor pursuant to this act.
(3) Upon issuance of a stay, the chief judge of the circuit court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for the patient to make recommendations to the governor and the court.
Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
EXCERPTS
Excerpts from Thursday's unanimous Florida Supreme Court opinion:
"This court, after careful consideration of the arguments of the parties and amici, the constitutional issues raised, the precise wording of the challenged law, and the underlying procedural history of this case, concludes that the law violates the fundamental constitutional tenet of separation of powers and is therefore unconstitutional both on its face and as applied to Theresa Schiavo. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's order declaring the law unconstitutional."
* * *
"The act, as applied in this case, resulted in an executive order that effectively reversed a properly rendered final judgment and thereby constituted an unconstitutional encroachment on the power that has been reserved for the independent judiciary."
* * *
"The trial courts of this state are called upon to make many of the most difficult decisions facing society ... these decisions literally affect the lives or deaths of patients. ... When the prescribed procedures are followed according to our rules of court and the governing statutes, a final judgment is issued, and all post-judgment procedures are followed, it is without question an invasion of the authority of the judicial branch for the Legislature to pass a law that allows the executive branch to interfere with the final judicial determination in a case. That is precisely what occurred here and for that reason the act is unconstitutional as applied to Theresa Schiavo."
* * *
"In addition to concluding that the act is unconstitutional as applied in this case because it encroaches on the power of the judicial branch, we further conclude that the act is unconstitutional on its face because it delegates legislative power to the governor."
* * *
"In enacting chapter 2003-418, the Legislature failed to provide any standards by which the governor should determine whether, in any given case, a stay should be issued and how long a stay should remain in effect. Further, the Legislature has failed to provide any criteria for lifting the stay. This absolute, unfettered discretion to decide whether to issue and then when to lift a stay makes the governor's decision virtually unreviewable."
* * *
"Chapter 2003-418's standardless, open-ended delegation of authority by the Legislature to the governor provides no guarantee that the incompetent patient's right to withdraw life-prolonging procedures will in fact be honored . . . the act does not even require that the governor consider the patient's wishes in deciding whether to issue a stay, and instead allows a unilateral decision by the governor to stay the withholding of life-prolonging procedures without affording any procedural process to the patient."
* * *
"We recognize that the tragic circumstances underlying this case make it difficult to put emotions aside and focus solely on the legal issue presented. We are not insensitive to the struggle that all members of Theresa's family have endured since she fell unconscious in 1990. However, we are a nation of laws and we must govern our decisions by the rule of law and not by our own emotions. Our hearts can fully comprehend the grief so fully demonstrated by Theresa's family members on this record. But our hearts are not the law. What is in the Constitution always must prevail over emotion. Our oaths as judges require that this principle is our polestar, and it alone."
* * *
"The continuing vitality of our system of separation of powers precludes the other two branches from nullifying the judicial branch's final orders. If the Legislature with the assent of the governor can do what was attempted here, the judicial branch would be subordinated to the final directive of the other branches. Also subordinated would be the rights of the individuals, including the well-established privacy right to self determination. ... No court judgment could ever be considered truly final and no constitutional right truly secure, because the precedent of this case would hold to the contrary. Vested rights could be stripped away based on popular clamor. The essential core of what the Founding Fathers sought to change from their experience with English rule would be lost, especially their belief that our courts exist precisely to preserve the rights of individuals, even when doing so is contrary to popular will."
* * *
"The trial court's decision regarding Theresa Schiavo was made in accordance with the procedures and protections set forth by the judicial branch and in accordance with the statutes passed by the Legislature in effect at that time. That decision is final and the Legislature's attempt to alter that final adjudication is unconstitutional as applied to Theresa Schiavo."
CHRONOLOGY
FEB. 25, 1990: Terri Schiavo has a heart attack, temporarily cutting off oxygen to her brain.
JANUARY 1993: A jury awards Schiavo and her husband, Michael, $1-million in a malpractice trial against doctors who treated Terri Schiavo in 1992.
FEB. 14, 1993: Michael Schiavo and Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, have a falling out.
JULY 29, 1993: The Schindlers file a petition to have Michael Schiavo removed as Terri's guardian.
SEPT. 15, 1994: The guardianship case is dismissed.
MAY 1998: Michael Schiavo files a petition to remove his wife's feeding tube, saying she would not want to be kept on life support.
FEB. 11, 2000: Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer rules the feeding tube can be removed.
MARCH 28, 2000: The Schindlers ask the 2nd District Court of Appeal to overturn Greer's decision.
JAN. 24, 2001: The 2nd District Court of Appeal upholds Greer's decision.
MARCH 29, 2001: Greer rules Schiavo feeding tube can be removed at 1 p.m. April 20.
APRIL 26, 2001: Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Frank Quesada orders doctors to resume feeding Schiavo while the Schindlers pursue a lawsuit against Michael Schiavo. The suit, later dismissed, accuses him of committing perjury when he said his wife did not want to be kept on life support.
NOV. 22, 2002: Greer rules that no current medicine can revive Schiavo and orders the feeding tube removed Jan. 3.
DEC. 13, 2002: Greer delays the feeding tube removal so the Schindlers can appeal.
JUNE 6, 2003: The 2nd District Court of Appeal rejects the new appeal.
SEPT. 17, 2003: Greer orders the feeding tube removed at 2 p.m. on Oct. 15.
OCT. 13: Right-to-life advocates begin an around-the-clock vigil, urging Gov. Jeb Bush to intervene.
OCT. 15: Schiavo's feeding tube is removed.
OCT. 21: The Legislature, in emergency session, passes a law to overturn the court ruling, allowing Bush to order Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted. Michael Schiavo sues, challenging Terri's Law.
OCT. 31: Pinellas-Pasco Chief Judge David Demers appoints Dr. Jay Wolfson, a University of South Florida professor, as Schiavo's guardian and asks for a recommendation.
NOV. 14: Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Douglas Baird call's Terri's Law intrusive and "presumptively unconstitutional."
DEC. 2: Wolfson reports that "competent, well-documented information" shows Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state with little hope of recovery.
MARCH 29: Michael Schiavo bars the Schindlers from seeing their daughter, saying puncture marks were found on Terri Schiavo's arm after a visit from her parents.
JUNE 4: Greer rules the Schindlers can resume visiting their daughter after Clearwater police clear them of any wrongdoing.
JUNE 16: The Florida Supreme Court agrees to decide whether Terri's Law is constitutional.
AUG. 31: Bush's lawyers argue before the Supreme Court that the governor has the power to step in to protect the rights of a disabled adult when her own wishes are in doubt. Michael Schiavo's attorney calls the law an illegal power grab by lawmakers.
THURSDAY: The Florida Supreme Court strikes down Terri's Law.
Compiled by Times researcher Kitty Bennett from Times files.
