Governor Fails In Bid To Oust Schiavo Judge

CLEARWATER - Gov. Jeb Bush lost his second bid Wednesday to remove a judge in the dispute over Terri Schiavo's fate.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal upheld Circuit Judge Douglas Baird's ruling that he has not already decided whether a legislative measure dubbed "Terri's Law" is unconstitutional.

That, Bush said in a written statement later Wednesday, shows the appeals court also is biased against him.

Bush used Terri's Law to intervene in the court battle over whether the woman, who has been ruled brain-damaged, should be kept alive with a feeding tube. Bush ordered a feeding tube reinserted into Schiavo's stomach six days after her husband had it removed with court permission.

"It appears the [appeals] 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," the governor said.

Bush challenged Baird's impartiality after the judge said Terri's Law was "presumptively unconstitutional" because it allowed Bush to violate Schiavo's right to refuse medical treatment, which falls under her constitutional right to privacy.

In his statement, the governor said Terri's Law should be presumed constitutional unless proved otherwise. He likened Baird's stance to that of a judge in a criminal case who thinks the defendant is guilty until proved innocent.

The appeals court disagreed.

A law that allows the government to violate someone's privacy rights is unconstitutional on its face unless the state can prove there is an overriding public interest in doing so, the three- judge appellate panel said.

Schiavo, 40, has been in what a majority of doctors terms a persistent vegetative state since she suffered heart failure in 1990 that might have been caused by a potassium deficiency brought on by an eating disorder.

Her husband, Michael Schiavo, has been battling his in-laws, Bob and Mary Schindler, for 5 1/2 years over whether Terri Schiavo would want to be kept alive. He contends she has no cognition, but the Schindlers say their daughter reacts to them and could improve with therapy.

In February 2000, Circuit Judge George Greer found in a nonjury trial that testimony by Michael Schiavo and his relatives showed Terri Schiavo made statements prior to her illness indicating she would not want to be kept alive.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal has repeatedly upheld that finding and this year ordered that Greer set a date for the removal of the feeding tube.

Bush wants the issue of Terri Schiavo's wishes to be reconsidered, this time by a jury.