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Court rules judge violated right of teen seeking abortion
By LUCY MORGAN
Published December 15, 2006
TALLAHASSEE - A Leon County judge who refused to allow a 16-year-old to get an abortion violated the young woman's right to be represented by an attorney of her choice, an appeals court has ruled. Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey was wrong to toss one of the teenager's attorneys out of the courtroom, the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled in a 2-1 decision released Tuesday. The Tallahassee appeals court in October issued an order allowing the young woman to get an abortion without notifying her parents but did not explain the directive until this week. Under Florida's new parental notice law, a mature teenager is entitled to a "judicial waiver" that allows the abortion without notice to parents if she can prove she is sufficiently mature to make the decision. Judge Michael E. Allen wrote the opinion critical of Dempsey, saying the young woman was left to depend on a second lawyer with little courtroom experience when Assistant Public Defender Hunter Pfeiffer was ejected from the courtroom. Pfeiffer was appearing on behalf of the ACLU with attorney Richard Benham and told the judge he had permission from Public Defender Nancy Daniels to handle the case on his own time on a Saturday afternoon. Dempsey's ruling that his representation of the woman was inappropriate was wrong and struck at the heart of an important right to choose one's own lawyer, the appeals court noted. No ethical or legal rule prohibits an assistant public defender from representing a client in a noncriminal proceeding, the court ruled. In a concurring opinion, Judge Robert T. Benton also suggested that Dempsey violated the law when she forced the young woman to divulge the telephone numbers of a boyfriend and another friend and attempted to call the two from the courtroom. A judge hearing a petition for a judicial waiver has no right to place telephone calls and engage in a fact-finding mission that violates the confidentiality required in such cases, Benton noted. Judge Paul Hawkes dissented from the majority opinion, saying he did not believe Dempsey improperly dismissed the attorney.
[Last modified December 15, 2006, 00:32:28]
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by AUDREY
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02/06/07 02:28 PM
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WHY HAVE OTHERS MORE RIGHT TO WOMEN'S BODIES THAN WE, AS WOMEN DO? AND WHY DO MEN THINK THEY UNDERSTAND AND ENACT LAWS ON THIS ISSUE! CAN WE AS WOMEN DETERMINE THEIR (MEN)DECISIONS ON VASECTOMIES? NO! UNFAIR.
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by Miragea
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12/20/06 01:17 PM
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It's nice to finally hear that at least one judge somewhere is recognizing the rights of young women. Honest education might have prevented all this from the beginning.
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by Flo
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12/15/06 07:42 PM
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All while preaching abstinence and cutting funds for public health resources. How about trying to help these girls prevent getting pregnant in the first place?
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by Natalie
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12/15/06 07:20 PM
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"It is a scary day when a parent is stripped of their rights by the government." Abstinence-only sex education, anyone? Nobody has the right to force someone into unwanted pregnancy. "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament."
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by VP
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12/15/06 05:47 PM
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"clueless parents". WHY are her parents so clueless? What is wrong in the relationship between this child and her parents that she could not turn to them and rely on them...solving this "situation" as a family? Perhaps Dad knows...or Uncle? It's SAD.
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by Anne
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12/15/06 05:41 PM
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Appalling. These obstructionist tactics are exactly what the anti-choice lobby intended with the judicial by-pass exception.
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by Lyn
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12/15/06 03:21 PM
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Lived in FL past 16 yrs = children's Health Education does not provide ANY sex education (abstain only) ha ha = that's a laugh! Right-Wing Conservatives refuse reality & would be shocked = ANYONE can get FREE CONDOMS at any County Health Dept.
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by Laura
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12/15/06 02:23 PM
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Obviously this judge has been influenced by the multi-billion $$ adoption industry. Teen girls are their biggest (and cheapest) producers, I am sure. A girl with no voting rights can have a baby according to this misogynist?
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by pat
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12/15/06 01:38 PM
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this is a tragedy of immense proportions.. the fact that we even have such a sexist law is an abomination.. if only men could get pregnant.. then abortions would be available everywhere and would be cherished and not admonished.
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by Kelly
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12/15/06 01:28 PM
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Just an example of the pro-life adgenda being pushed. I find it amazing that the girl was resourcful enough to get as far as she did. How many teens don't know the law and don't have anyone to guide them? If they can't make choices can they parent?
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by Amy
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12/15/06 01:11 PM
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No question that if the girl were to have any medical complications, or even death, during the proceedure of murdering the unborn grandchild that it would be entirely up to the clueless parents to care for her both emotionally and financially!
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by Amy
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12/15/06 01:07 PM
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It is a scary day when a parent is stripped of their rights by the government. How is any judge, a complete stranger to the girl and her family, qualified to decide whether or not a child is old enough to have an abortion behind her parents' backs?
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by Bobby
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12/15/06 09:37 AM
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This is one screwed up state. The state allows a 16 year old to engage in sex while at the same time telling 16 year olds they are too young to make an informed decision on having an abortion.
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by William
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12/15/06 09:16 AM
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Well is Dempsey going to have to pay for this child? To late for an abortion.
Seems Dempsey is just showing she is against abortions.
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