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Friday, March 25, 2005
Law - [Updated] More on the federal Terri Schiavo law
On March 21 the ILB published the text of Congress' Terri Schiavo law. This Adam Liptak column, published Thursday in the NY Times, gives an interesting analysis of the judicial review of the new law. A sample:
In almost the same breath, the two judges who joined the unsigned majority opinion, Ed Carnes and Frank M. Hull, said the law enacted on Monday could not undo years of litigation in the Florida state courts. And in what could be read as a dig at Congress, the judges suggested that better drafting might have yielded a different result.[Updated 3/26/05] This Washington Post editorial today comments on the conduct of the three branches of government with respect to the Terri Schiavo case. It begins:"Congress considered and specifically rejected provisions that would have mandated, or permitted with favorable implications, the grant of the pretrial stay," the majority said.
An early version of the legislation passed on Monday said that the district judge hearing the Schiavo case "shall" issue a stay of the state court proceedings. A later one said it "may" issue such a stay. The law as enacted omitted the provision entirely.
Yesterday's panel decision quoted at length and with something like glee from an exchange between Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, and the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, Republican of Tennessee.
Senator Levin asked Senator Frist about the significance of the omitted stay provision.
"Nothing in the current bill or its legislative history mandates a stay," Senator Frist replied. "I would assume, however, the federal court would grant a stay based on the facts of this case because Mrs. Schiavo would need to be alive in order for the court to make its determination."
Dr. Frist assumed wrong, the majority suggested. Indeed, the music of the panel decision was that Congress could not win. Had it passed the earlier version of the law, the courts might well have held it unconstitutional. The version Congress did pass, the panel majority said yesterday, was ineffective.
NEITHER CONGRESS nor President Bush acquitted themselves well last weekend in enacting a law to intervene in the case of Terri Schiavo. But in the days that have followed, one institution of American government has distinguished itself in its handling of the matter: the federal courts.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 25, 2005 06:34 PM
Posted to General Law Related