September (Web-only) 2004

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Florida Supreme Court says legislature, governor had no right to save Terri Schiavo's life
The Florida Supreme Court today ruled unanimously that the state legislature should not have given Gov. Jeb Bush the power to feed mentally disabled 40-year-old Terri Schiavo against the wishes of husband, who wanted to starve her to death. "Terri's law" violates the separation of powers, the court said.

"It is without question an invasion of the authority of the judicial branch for the Legislature to pass a law that allows the executive branch to interfere with the final judicial determination in a case," Chief Justice Barbara Pariente wrote. "This absolute unfettered discretion to decide whether to issue and then when to lift a stay makes the governor's decision virtually unreviewable."

Pariente said the law must triumph over emotion: "We recognize the tragic circumstances underlying this case make it difficult to put emotions aside and focus solely on the legal issue presented," she wrote. " However, we are a nation of laws and we must govern our decisions by the rule of law and not by our own emotions."

It's unclear what comes next. Gov. Bush may appeal the decision in the federal court system. Schiavo's feeding tube may be removed, and her starvation may begin. Watch TerrisFight.org for more details. We'll round up reaction tomorrow.

TBN says it needs massive reserves for expansion and terrorism insurance
A 1,500-word press release issued yesterday by the Trinity Broadcasting Network's public relations firm calls recent Los Angeles Times articles about the organization "full of inaccuracies, condescension and mischaracterizations."

The press release denies many accusations in the Times series (which now stands at five articles), including ...