JURIST - Paper Chase: Florida, judge tussle in last-minute Schiavo protective bid

[JURIST] The government of Florida and a Florida judge engaged in a last-minute legal tussle late Wednesday as the state made what could be its final bid to restore Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. At a press conference held while the Florida Senate was still debating legislation that might have authorized tube reconnection [JURIST report], Governor Jeb Bush said that new evidence from neurologist Dr. William Cheshire [Mayo Clinic profile] suggested that Schiavo was minimally conscious and therefore that the current diagnosis of her being in a persistent vegetative state might not be correct [NBC WFLA-8 TV Tampa video]. The Florida Department of Children and Familes [official website] meanwhile petitioned [PDF] Pinellas County circuit judge George Greer, who has already made numerous rulings in the Schiavo case, for leave to intervene based on Cheshire's affidavit [PDF] and allegations of abuse and endangerment of Schiavo that under Florida statute [text] could allow the Department to forcibly take her out of the hospice and restore her supply of food and water. Shortly afterwards Greer, acting at the behest of George Felos, counsel for Michael Schiavo, said that it appeared state action on Terri Schiavo was "imminent" and issued a temporary injunction saying "DCF is hereby restrained from taking possession of Theresa Marie Schiavo or removing her from Hospice Woodside, administer nutrition or hydration artificially or otherwise interfere with this court's final judgment." ABC-TV has a video report with clips from court arguments before Greer; Knight Ridder has more. Greer is expected to make a formal ruling on the DCF petition by Noon Thursday.

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