Untested Legal Approaches Seek Relief for Terri Schiavo; Allegations of Very Recent Abuses Surface

Pending lawsuits name new targets, demand local Police and State Atty offices comply with State, Federal Law. Recent abuses have triggered a new wave of lawsuits in various venues.

(PRWEB) January 23, 2004 - After the Governor's recent 7-0 loss at Florida's High Court, The Florida Supreme Court recently split 4-3 on surprise last-minute filing in Terri Schiavo Case, as described in a press release of Friday, 25 February 2005:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb212613.htm

mirrored at:
http://hometown.aol.com/gww1210/myhomepage/PressRelease02-25-2005.html

and:
http://www.geocities.com/gordon_watts32313/PressRelease02-25-2005.html

Related: A "joint press release" of 23 outraged citizens, who speak out on the "shortcomings" of 'Terri's Law' to protect -and which is current as of August 05, 2004, can be found at:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/8/prweb146899.php --The "original" release of January 23, 2004, is as follows:

Lakeland, Florida resident and nonlawyer, Gordon Watts, has filed petitions in several courts seeking, among other things, a Writ of Mandamus compelling the local police and a state's attorney's office to comply with state statutory requirements to investigate alleged abuses of another state resident, Theresa Marie "Terri" Schindler-Schiavo. State Laws and case law allow any state resident to seek enforcement of State Laws, but what makes Watts' petitions different from all those previously filed in this case is the target of these lawsuits.

No other lawyer to date, including famed Schindler family attorney, Pat Anderson -or lawyers for Florida Governor Jeb Bush, have sought legal action against either the local police or the state's attorney's office. The only recent attempt to use an enforcement mandamus named Jeb Bush, as the state's top cop, seeking to order him to reinsert Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.

However, State Law, which makes no exception for "PVS" patients, makes it a second degree felony to withhold food or medical treatment from an elderly or disabled adult, and State Law also requires police to investigate allegations of abuse, which are alleged to have just recently occurred when Michael Schiavo went beyond court orders regarding removal of Terri's feeding tube and denied his disabled wife food and medical treatment, this past October.

Watts' petitions, to date, have not gotten much press, but local legal scholars claim that the local police would be a more logical target of such a lawsuit, as they answer local calls to service, unlike the case with the governor. Watts, has also filed Amicus papers, supporting Bush, in the unrelated "Terri's Law" case, and heard before a different judge. Watts feels that his complaints will not get a fair day in court without media scrutiny and pressure on the courts from other interests, such as disability groups, various religious affiliations, or conservative "Rule of Law," and such grass roots activities as picketing and lobbying lawmakers to convene an investigation of the abuses.

Watts has had Oral Arguments before the Florida Second District Court of Appeal in an unrelated case this past October 08, 2003, as well as experience in the Fla. 1st DCA and Florida's Supreme Court, and is the only person known to have filed formal petitions for relief with the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

Details and online copies of most of his current court filings can be accessed at the non-profit Online Newspaper, The Resister, at two mirrors:

Main Site:
http://hometown.aol.com/gww1210

Geocities Mirror:
http://www.GeoCities.com/Gordon_Watts32313

Court briefs may also be obtained for a fee from the respective courts.

Watts seeks to obtain the enforcement of current state and federal laws, not currently being challenged in the courts as is "Terri's Law."

Updated/Current release:
Many citizens Decry Weaknesses in Fla. 'Terris Law' ; 23 Outraged citizens give statements and sign with full contact information to validate it's not a mere "online petition" re Terri Schiavo case: (Aug. 2004)
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/8/prweb146899.htm
or: http://www.emediawire.com/printer.php?prid=146899

Related releases of others:
Imbalanced reporting on Schiavo:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/8/prweb100246.htm
or: http://www.emediawire.com/printer.php?prid=100246

Florida Pinellas Pasco Judicial Race:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/8/prweb145909.htm
or: http://www.emediawire.com/printer.php?prid=145909

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