Friday, October 24, 2003
And He's a Lawyer
Not that we want to jump in on the sad case of Terri Schiavo, the comatose woman at the center of the ugly legal dispute in Florida, but some things said on Wednesday's The Newshour by Florida's Speaker of the House left us shaking our heads.
Having presided over the House's decision to override a court order allowing Schiavo's husband to disconnect her feeding tube, Speaker Johnnie Byrd of the Florida House of Representatives--who is a lawyer, mind you--said this:
Isn't the Schiavo case a dispute? Isn't it a disagreement between her husband and her parents? Hasn't it been in dispute for 13 years? And didn't it go all the way to the Florida Supreme Court?
What else is it but a dispute? How is it "public policy"?
Byrd:
No doubt recognizing the weakness of this argument, Byrd's political instincts take over and he quickly moves from the open fields of legality to the more hilly terrain of rhetoric:
He has to--otherwise it's all too clear how dreadfully the legislature is interfering in the judiciary process.
Sensing, perhaps, that the ground here is still a bit too well-lit, Byrd drops a phrase meant to lure any pro-lifers that may be half tuning in, then dives directly to the gutter:
What we have here is no less than the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives retrying a settled case in two sentences on national TV. Byrd gives us the villain, the motive, and the verdict all conveniently packaged for easy consumption in one paragraph. Schiavo's husband is a cad and a bounder, "the testimony" was that she "could have therapy and live a higher quality of life", and the court has too much authority--granted, ostensibly, by the legislature--which Byrd has courageously reigned in.
Thank goodness Floridians have such legislative leadership; otherwise how would they ever settle disputes?
Maybe someone there should come up with a legal forum for deciding between opposing parties. You know, an arena where arguments are heard and measured against the law and each other, then decided by impartial figures. Some happy day.
In the meantime Floridians will have to rely on the shamelessness and mealymouthed rhetoric of its politicians.
Having presided over the House's decision to override a court order allowing Schiavo's husband to disconnect her feeding tube, Speaker Johnnie Byrd of the Florida House of Representatives--who is a lawyer, mind you--said this:
The legislators make public policy. I think, you know, if the step back away from this case, you know, we have three branches of government. I'll say that the legislatures have maybe, you know, delegated their authority too much to the court system. We've relied too much on the judicial system to make public policy when, in fact, the judiciary is very good at resolving disputes but very poor at making public policy.The judiciary is very good at resolving disputes but very poor at making public policy.
Isn't the Schiavo case a dispute? Isn't it a disagreement between her husband and her parents? Hasn't it been in dispute for 13 years? And didn't it go all the way to the Florida Supreme Court?
What else is it but a dispute? How is it "public policy"?
Byrd:
We had to intervene to give a clear signal to the Florida courts what the legislative intent and the public policy of Florida would be in cases such as the Terri Schiavo case.In fact, the legislation is so narrowly written that it specifically names Schiavo. If that's Byrd's idea of setting "public policy" then the Florida legislature is going to be awfully busy from now on.
No doubt recognizing the weakness of this argument, Byrd's political instincts take over and he quickly moves from the open fields of legality to the more hilly terrain of rhetoric:
The testimony I think in this case was that she could have therapy and live a higher quality of life. And it's not for us to say whether her life was worth living.Byrd of course knows that testimony in the case was presented by both sides and that the Court decided between them. Nevertheless he purposely states "the testimony was that she could have therapy and live a higher quality of life"--conveniently failing to mention that this was the testimony that lost in court.
He has to--otherwise it's all too clear how dreadfully the legislature is interfering in the judiciary process.
Sensing, perhaps, that the ground here is still a bit too well-lit, Byrd drops a phrase meant to lure any pro-lifers that may be half tuning in, then dives directly to the gutter:
We just need to err on the side of life. And I believe now with this new law, we will have another guardian ad item appointed, someone who has no conflicts of interest, you know, there were monetary incentives, I understand that Mr. Schiavo has another lady that he lives with and maybe even a child or one or more children by this other person.Well, at least Byrd isn't trying to solve a dispute.
What we have here is no less than the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives retrying a settled case in two sentences on national TV. Byrd gives us the villain, the motive, and the verdict all conveniently packaged for easy consumption in one paragraph. Schiavo's husband is a cad and a bounder, "the testimony" was that she "could have therapy and live a higher quality of life", and the court has too much authority--granted, ostensibly, by the legislature--which Byrd has courageously reigned in.
Thank goodness Floridians have such legislative leadership; otherwise how would they ever settle disputes?
Maybe someone there should come up with a legal forum for deciding between opposing parties. You know, an arena where arguments are heard and measured against the law and each other, then decided by impartial figures. Some happy day.
In the meantime Floridians will have to rely on the shamelessness and mealymouthed rhetoric of its politicians.
