essaysfromtheedge

Pulling The Feeding Tube On The Courts

So, today is the big day. Terri Schiavo's feeding tube is due to be removed today.

It's been an interesting 24 hours; in some respects a microcosm of the past 10+ years. We've had some extremely calisthenic legal maneuverings, including - finally, some would say - an interest by the US Congress.

But it appears, at this minute, to all be in vain - Judge Greer has overruled all, including the Congress, and has said, "Enough".

Again.

And I have to say, as much as I don't want to see Terri starved to death at the wishes of her incredibly selfish husband - who stands to profit financially from her death through her estate - I'm more concerned with what this case has done to the court system.

To put it succinctly, the past 10+ years have seen this case march all around the Florida courts. It's even touched the US Supreme Court, who diecided this week to leave it be.

Here's what bothers me: when party #1 in this case lost in a court, they went to another court. They won, and Party #2 took it to another court. They won and Party #1 took it to another court. Another victory and another appeal; another loss and another appeal.

Appeal, appeal, appeal.

Bounce, bounce, bounce.

If you don't like what one judge says, then go shopping for another one.

This sets an incredibly bad legal precedent: if you don't like a verdict, appeal. Which, in and of itself, is fine - it's a cornerstone of our legal system. But we've seen the appeal process become so stretched and prolonged that it's begun to erode the idea that a person can ever have a case finished.

If the Schiavo case is any indication, no one can ever win in our legal system: appeals can drag on indefinitely. Gone is the ostensible principle of legal finality. Verdicts become mere opinions, ready to be overturned by another judge.

So, when Judge Greer said, "Enough," part of me wanted to weep - for Terri and her family - but also part of me wanted to sit back and sigh with relief; maybe this case is going reach a conclusion after all.

In all the musings of the million-dollar pundits, no one has bemoaned the fact that our legal system is being eroded by the noble effort to keep Terri alive, and the effort by her husband to see her dead. We hear about the evils of Terri's husband; and I concur with this concensus. We hear about the pain of the family; and I understand their desire to assume the care of their daughter. It certainly would have been best for everyone if Terri's husband had signed over custody to them years ago.

But we don't hear about the courts.

It's too bad, because I would like to see some serious legal discussion of this issue. Without this discussion, I'm afraid that the starving of our courts is being masked by the good intentions of millions of Americans.



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posted by Tomás @ 3/18/2005 02:38:00 PM