Activist Republican Judges

Joe Conanson:

When the Supreme Court issued what should be the final decision in the Schiavo matter on Thursday, its nine members again unanimously rejected the parents' plea for another review. The court's decision, issued through Justice Anthony Kennedy, scarcely went beyond the succinctly negative "denied." None of the court's self-styled "originalist" thinkers issued a peep of dissent, although this was their fifth opportunity to do so.

Antonin Scalia, who has come closest to articulating an openly theocratic approach to jurisprudence, indicated no objection to the majority position. Neither did Clarence Thomas, whose views closely mirror those of Scalia. Their silence suggests the radicalism of the congressional departure from constitutional norms that was embodied in the "Schiavo law" passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the president. By turning away the Schindlers' appeal, the Republican justices were simply endorsing the findings of their colleagues in the lower courts.

On cable television and on the Internet much has been made of the fact that U.S. District Judge James Whittemore -- who issued last week's initial federal ruling in favor of Michael Schiavo -- is a "Clinton appointee." By emphasizing that connection, as if the former president himself were deciding Terri Schiavo's fate, the cable loudmouths were pandering to the old Satanic caricatures of the Clintons that still excite the ultra-right.

When the Schindlers appealed Whittemore's decision to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, a three-judge panel rejected their plea for a stay. Of the two judges who ruled against the Schindlers, Ed Carnes is a conservative Republican appointed by former President George H.W. Bush, and Frank Hull is a moderate Democrat appointed by Clinton. The dissenting judge, who supported the Schindlers' plea, was Charles Wilson -- another Clinton appointee.

Thank god somebody in the GOP understands the importance of the right to die with dignity and that pesky little thing called the Rule of Law.

ntodd

[Update: let's hope the Schindlers' hysteria isn't communicable:

"Terri is weakening. She's down to her last hours. Something has to be done and has to be done quick," said Bob Schindler, who visited his daughter Friday morning.

The parents, who believe their daughter could improve, took their case back to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta — the same court that has ruled against them twice this week. In Michael Schiavo's response, his attorneys argued that the Schindlers have abandoned all pretense of the law and are simply making "a pure emotional appeal."

Another legal maneuver included a late afternoon filing asking Pinellas Circuit Judge George Greer to order the reinsertion of the tube, claiming Terri Schiavo tried to say "I want to live" when her tube was removed.

Schiavo then reportedly said, "S'awright!"]