Wiz Bang links to the GAL report which was presented by a commenter here earlier.
The GAL report only proves one thing: Terri has been denied due process, as guaranteed to her in the Constitution.
Jerri commented on this here, and I’ve pulled it out to share it:
The GAL, in fact, clearly establishes the lack of due process granted Terri. Her husband hired experts (we trial lawyers call such people “testifying whoresâ€â€“definitely an appropriate moniker for Schiavo’s experts) Her parents hired experts.(not as high powered as Terri’s and not as qualified–maybe they didn’t have enought money for better ones) The judge appointed an expert.
But, Terri NEVER HAD A LAWYER who could find and hire experts to testify on her behalf. Since the hearings outlined in this report occurred, many neurologists have come forward to challenge the diagnosis, the methods used to diagnose, and the prospects for improvement.
Had she her own attorney–she could have been given the benefit of the MULTITUDE of neurologists who disagree with the experts hired by the husband and court.
These kinds of cases often involve dueling experts. Terri should have had her own hired guns. The experts hired by the parents and appointed by the judge do not fulfill her right to due process under the Constitution. This is precisely what makes this an appropriate Federal issue.
To those who disagree with Federal intervention in this case, do you also believe that John F. Kennedy and Johnson had no business getting the FBI involved in investigating the murders of civil rights workers in the 1960’s?
And just in case you don’t understand that last paragraph, she went into a brief explanation:
The FBI and Justice Department investigated these murders because of the belief that local law enforcement had a hand in them–thus state action deprived the the victems of their rights under the Constitution. In fact, the Federal prosecution of corrupt Southern law enforcement officials for complicity in civil rights abuses was based on the 14th amendment. The Federal Courts had jurisdiction of these case because the Federal Constitutional rights of the civil rights workers and leaders were violated by State Action.
The similarity with Terri’s situation is that a State Court has ordered (not authorized–ORDERED) her death by starvation and thirst. This is a STATE action potentially violating her civil rights. This makes it a Federal question.
And as for the experts hired by Terri’s parents–their testimony was discounted because they were not as pedigreed as the other experts–one was a radiologist. Good experts cost money.
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