I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the Judge who has the decision now in the Terri Schiavo case. At this point he has not ruled on the Schlinder's request to have the feeding tube re-inserted while waiting Federal Review of the case thanks to the interference of Congress and the President last night.
US District Court Judge James Whittemore graduated from Stetson College in 1977, he was assigned to the US Courts in 1999 by President Bill Clinton. He worked for as an Assistant federal public defender for several years then went into private practice before becoming a US District Court Judge.
In reviewing a few of the cases he's been involved in that have had media attention, it appears he does not let public opinion get in the way of his decisions no matter the ruling. Some of these cases and links to articles:
In 2001 the case of Gerald and Betty Payne, the Greater Ministries International Church. Jurors convicted the Paynes and three others on multiple counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering. The church claimed international trades and lucrative mining ventures fueled a money-doubling financial program, but prosecutors proved it was a Ponzi scheme that paid established investors with money from recent investors.
Thousands of people nationwide lost huge sums of their money when the system collapsed in 1998. Gerald Payne, 65, is much thinner and walks more feebly since jurors convicted him on 19 counts March 12. He suffered a stroke, his fourth, while in jail awaiting his sentence last month, said attorney Ron Smith.
But Whittemore said Gerald Payne is a danger to the community who would commit more fraud and take more money if free. He blistered the defendant for using ``the word of God to perpetuate a fraud.''
Betty Payne, 61, is in good health and appeared headed for judicial leniency until her words prompted the judge to add 16 months behind bars.``We are innocent of all charges,'' both Paynes said. The only difference in their statements came at the end. ``Glory be to God,'' she said. Smith later said he had tried to dissuade the Paynes from making such statements. ``They both feel that God will intercede,'' he said. ``And I told them both not to count on it.''
Attorney Anne Borghetti tried to minimize the harm, telling the judge that Betty Payne was under the control of other people: ``That's not her statement that she just read. She was given that by other people.'' ``That was my statement,'' her client insisted. Whittemore appeared surprised by the resistance.
``It's one thing to have blind faith,'' he told Betty Payne. ``It's quite another to cast yourself as a martyr for no apparent good. I just deliberated a matter that you could serve 33 months less. What you've just done is throw that right back in my face.''
More on Payne case
In 2002 he ruled that the Federal Courts had broken their promise of immunity to Jeanette Walden.
More on Walden case
In 2001 he ruled that Rolando Viera could not have an order blocking his involvement in MLB's draft, stating that while there was evidence Cuban players here on a visa were treated differently than those who had defected to the US that Viera had not proven the federal standard for irreparable harm. One of his quoted comments:
"If drafted, he has several options, not the least of which is playing professional baseball in the majors, an enviable opportunity for hundreds if not thousands of aspiring baseball players around the world," Judge James Whittemore said in denying the injunction.
More on Viera case
In one of his early cases he ruled that The city of Tampa can allow an X-rated book and video store to open within a few hundred feet of a neighborhood just across the city-county line. Stating:
"It is not the province of the court to rewrite this code provision to protect the plaintiffs who live beyond the jurisdictional boundaries of the city," Whittemore said.
More on City of Tampa case
While it is of course impossible to guess how Judge Whittemore will handle the Schiavo case, I hope these cases listed here gives those of you interested some background information on this Judge.
UPDATE:
As predicted by many legal experts Judge Whittemore felt Terri Schiavo's "life and liberty interests" had been protected by Florida courts. The 13 page decision has not been released on the court site yet but will update further once this is available. Claims of him being an "activist judge"are already starting to circulate which does him a huge disservice. Those of us who have read the type of work he's done in the past know that he carefully considered this case and ruled on the law not emotion.
PLEASE NOTE: I have removed the ability to write new comments on this post, if you would like to comment please do so on my post written today as a response to the comments this post has gotten. Thank you.......
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31 comments:
Thanks for the great research.
You left out a very significant fact. Whittemore was a State circuit court judge (same as Judge Greer is in this case) for many years before he was appointed to the federal bench. I don't think he is going to like the idea of the Congress or Federal courts telling a State court judge that what tat judge spent 7 years litigating is meaningless and worthless.
thanks anonymous....that's not listed on his bio, I have the same one american on line posted.
I will do some further checking since that is mssing from the bio that lists him in private practice.
http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=2872
That's the link...
i consider what this judge done as out right murder, and for a judge to take the life of anyone that is not on life support, she smiles, she follows objects, she knows her mother and family. Her husband wants her out of his way so that he can go on with his life. And this judge gave him his way, you would be put in jail for not giving a animal water or food but a person is denied the same. The husband said she told him she wouldn't want to live like this, funny I didn't or her family or any one else hear this only him. How can a man who is suppose to be fair and holds the lives of people in his hands order a woman that never hurt anyone to die. This man commited a murder same as if he shot and killed someone. There is a higher power and he will one day have to face that power and i hope one day he lays in the same spot and see how he feels when the plug is about to be pulled. Judge Whittemore is a rotten person.
I am praying for the souls of Michael Schivo and Judge Whittenmore. To deprive HIS WIFE of any rehabilatation over several crucial years, commit adultery by living with another woman and having two children with her and a judge taking HIS word that "she wouldn't want to live this way" is nothing short of illegal and murder. God Bless Terri and God help Michael Schivo and James Whittenmore.
Judge Whittemore is currently guilty of attempted murder, and if Mrs. Schiavo dies, he should be charged with 1st degree murder. He should be addressed in court as "servant", not "your honor" as there is nothing honorable about him.
All Liberals are murderers in one way or another...and are slowly but surely killing all that is good in America. They are the only real terrorist threat to the United States.
THANK GOD for Judge Whittemore! I am so impressed that he refused to be bullied by the ludicrous rantings of the greedy and anything but civil conservatives in Congress. They are clearly trying to make a political war out of tragedy that has been going on for 15 YEARS!
May Terri FINALLY pass peacefully and may her parents realize that their selfishness is the real immorality in this debate. The woman HAS been dead for 15 years and the so-called "smiles" that she has been having are nothing but "brain spasms," according to the many neurologists she has seen.
Furthermore, may President Bush recall that as governor of Texas, he signed a piece of legislation enabling a patient's physician and health care facility appointed review committee to terminate the life support of those who HAVE an executed living will, even if they expressly indicated their wish to be kept alive through extraordinary means and even if it is AGAINST THEIR FAMILY's or GUARDIAN'S EXPRESS WISHES. Can we say hypocrite?
Don't believe me? Here's the link:
http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/05/03/con05099.html
To "someone who has done their homework" what would you do if it were your child? You also have some nerve calling anyone a hypocrite - liberals are the kings and queens of hypocrisy. Furthermore the only people experiencing "brain spasms" are you and Whittemore. The only ones that have any moral or ethical right to make decisions on behalf of Terri are her parents. It is always only the liberal democrat that makes a political issue out of anything. People have a right to change their minds, or don't you believe in that?
A liberal wants to make sure that terrorists, prisoners of war, garbage that will kill Americans at any chance - simply because we are decent people, are getting the right food to eat while they are in our prisons. A liberal always advocates for "social justice" and "equal rights." The liberal doctrine states that a persons first right is to have freedoms, freedom of choice, freedom to live life the way people choose. But it is a liberal that wants to pull the plug on a white American woman simply because they feel it is time. What would the liberals' stance be on this issue if Terri were a jew or black? This is so obvious that the liberal judges are intentionally killing Terri to try and make Bush look bad. The only good liberal is a dead one... But the liberal is so stupid - because the liberal doesn't think about karma.
I'd suggest that those who believe the only good liberal is a dead liberal and the like are not quite the "Christians" they claim to be.
I understand this is something some disagree on, however I would suggest reading some of the actual trial transcripts as opposed to believing the "save terri" type sites that are long on emotion but short on providing facts....
James Whittlemore,
Burn in Hell.
I wish I could write to him, I think he is scum on this earth, it's awful, it's prompted me to go out and file a Last will and testiment...It's upseting, how can he live with hisself after starving this poor girl to death, that's ok, he will make his maker and have to explan to him why he made the decision he did....Please save this girls life, she did nothing wrong, thanks
judge whittemore,
what gives you the right to end an innocent persons life. you have nothing in writing that states that she did not want to live like this. it took her husband seven yrs to say this. would you like someone to do this to your child. her husband states he is devoted to her. what a joke. i don't begrudge him for wanting to get on with his life. why doesn't he get his marriage annulled and give her mother her daughter. this is murder in a sense. why do you judges repeatedly let child molesters out of jail to kill children. there is something wrong with our judicial system. let terri be in gods hands, when its her time to go that will happen. this should not be the word of a husband who was sleeping around a year after she was sick. he is sick. where is the proof of what she believed in. i sure would not take the word of this worm.
He's doing his job as a judge, which is to rule on the law not be ruled by emotion.
The fact that some are making such inane comments about him demonstrates a total lack of knowledge of the legal system.
While this judge may believe he has done right by Terri Schiavo, he has not. Who decided that he could play GOD? I believe that in this case, instead of ruling on the law, that he in fact is ruling on emotion.. his own, it is truly a power deal for him,,, because the congress and president, and florida governor are pleading for this womans life, he is voting the opposite, just Because He Can. He does not care about this woman or anyone else.
I suppose not many would want to live like Terri, or live like Christopher Reeve, or a mentally challenged individual, does this mean we should just start starving people with disabilities, or severe trauma injuries to death? How dare we as a nation, have that kind of power over God...
I think James Whittemore needs to take a close look, because the God I believe in, says we shall have no other gods before him... hmmmm Mr Whittemore, something to think about!!.... God does forgive, lets hope he will forgive you someday!
The fact that you didn't get the ruling that you wanted doesn't make the Judge bad.
Nor is it just this Judge, it is the local court, the appeals court, the federal appeals court and the Supreme Court.
If the Judge was in error then one of the appeals courts would have ruled against him. The same can be said for Judge Greer. If he were wrong or had some agenda the appeals process would have not supported his rulings.
Since when is food and water, artificial means????? Regardless of what the husband says or claims or wants done, the courts should do what is right, what will protect life.
[Although choosing anonymous option, I am leaving my name at the end of this post]
As a current law student, who has now read hundreds of cases, I can appreciate the fact that District Court Judges are sometimes left with the unenviable task of ruling against public pressure. However, I have also found that when a court is intent on obtaining justice, regardless of the law, they can fashion equitable remedies. You see this in many types of family law cases, especially marital property rights. Based on the comments, he has made, "don't count on it" [referring to God], "emotional rhetoric" [referring to lawyer's arguments] , one could assume that he is not very friendly towards any type of religious sentiment being expressed in his court room. This probably did not help the Schindler's lawyer make his case. It is true that emotion is best left on the court steps if you are a judge. But the logic does not follow that, absent emotion, a "common sense" decision will emerge. Much of our criminal and tort system law developed through the "common sense" approach that took into account the "emotions" of our collective society against certain conduct. Our Constitutional Law shows us that the legislature, who is accountable to the constituency, is the correct body to decide public policy issues, not the appointed court. That is one arggument that is brought forth. I do not trust a life-appointed judge to fashion public policy b/c he has no incentive to do the research required to make a sound decision. Finally, the procedural aspect dealing with an enjoining order/injunction, seems odd. An important aspect of granting orders is that "irreparable harm" would occur otherwise. What can be more irreparable than death? A common sensical person would say, nothing. You cannot bring someone back to life, you can always let them die a less painful death later. This I think should outweigh any "likelihood of succes on the merits" deficiencies. In conclusion, it does not follow that there is liberal common sense only because emotion is discounted in this case by this judge.
On a last note, foreign countries have criticized our death penalty as cruel and many in this country have been against it. I think many of those against the death penalty are for allowing the starvation death of Schiavo. It may be interesting to see if this is also considered barbaric overseas. Conservatives obviously do not like to look to foreign sentiment, while more liberal people do seem to care about the perception.
Israel
Thank you Israel, I disagree with you on most of what you commented, but thank you for making your points. Judge Whittemore is a religious man, the fact that he does not want to hear emotion he wants to hear facts is what the case is really about....facts.
You also have to remember most of the reason for the rejection has been the causes for appeal. A judge is not supposed to "create" law.
I agree the system needs to be changed in regards to what the procedure is for a diagnosis of PVS from a legal standpoint for people who do not have living wills. It's too bad that after Hugh Finn this was not done. Had States done so this situation might have ended up with the same end result but there could have been less areas of disagreement.
I cannot refer to him as a judge, lets refer to him as a coward comparable to a beaten terrorist. This man along with all of those lose screw judges in Florida need to be charged with 1st degree murder. You see what this is all about is that the low life democrats cannot stand defeat, and they are still seeking revenge. All of these lose screws judges are part of the Clinton regime, and they want power regardless of who they hurt. Petition all of those low life out of office
I have read a lot of your submissions here on both sides and while I agree that Terri Schaivo may be in a persistent vegetative state, I do not agree that she was afforded her rights as a citizen under the law by these so called judges. There is many fishy reports out accusing Michael Schaivo of abuse and neglect of giving adequate therapy to strengthen Terri Schaivo's life and because of these stories and affadavits from the nurses, the trial judges should have taken them into consideration. However, like in many cases, many causes are never entered into the courtroom setting because of idiotic legal procedures and practices by lawyers and judges.
We as citizens no longer trust in our legal and judicial system based on judicial activism and more importantly, judicial tyranny whereas the judicial branch makes the laws of the land in lieu of the legislative branches. This in itself is unconstitutional. The liberals accused the conservatives in the Terri Schaivo case that this was politically motivated, whereas how many judges ruled for gay marriage in California, Oregon, etc. against state laws so they could further their cause on the gay marriage issue. The liberals denote that the husband of Terri Schaivo is by tradition the natural guardian of the spouse, but fail to remember that the institution of marriage between a man and a woman is a tradition going back thousands of years. Gay marriage is not a tradition.
The courts have lost their edge and this is my beef with this case. Judge Whittemore gave Terri the death sentence without due cause as many circumstances are still left unanswered, ie ... Why is Terri is this situation in the first place.... What validity is to the fact that Michael Schaivo injected her with insulin .... Did Michael Schaivo commit abuse by withholding treatment and solid food to Terri. To many unanswered questions for me and being familiar with the court system and our legal system, I can only surmise that Terri got the wrong end of the stick in this case.
Judge Whittemore and the rest of the legal system involved here will in time answer for their actions.... whether in this life or beyond. What ever happened to mercy among judges? I have never been a religious person, but am beginning to see what the other side looks like, ie Satan.
So Lisa Renee you think that a persons life is not an emotional issue? I guess Terri's parents should listen to you. That the judges should just "do their job"... You also state that you agree the system needs changing. Well when does it normally change? When the problems are brought to the forefront, and here it is! You're just another typical hypocritical liberal. You think you know so much about the law - a judge can suspend a ruling until there is a better answer, it happens all the time with criminals. But being the liberal you are I guess that's alright. Also, I didn't see any mention of Christianity anywhere in the passage from the person that wrote the only good liberal is a dead one. I think you are a bit confused. Or are you just assuming that people with a conscience are Christians? Laws have been changing since 1964, you remember what that's all about don't you? If you really had a clue you'd see that this entire case is unfolding the way it is for only one reason. You figure it out...
A judge rules on law not emotion, that is what I commented on. Of course for the family and friends on both sides this is an emotional issue.
If there were some type of abuse, then it would have come out during the malpractice trial. The original jury award was reduced to the belief that Terri's eating disorder made her culpable for her collapse. Had someone else caused it the malpractice attorneys would have brought this up, as if they could have created doubt that it was their fault? They could have won. So you have not only that but the fact that the Schindlers supported Michael to the point of them living together until he refused to give them money from the lawsuit. In 1994 after Michael refused to give the Schindlers money they filed to have him removed as guardian. There were no claims of abuse then nor did the ad litum find anything negative about Michael except he was agressive about Terri's treatment.
If you really felt there was some suspicion this man hurt your daughter you would not typically wait 10 years to make such a claim nor would you allow him to live with you. And all of these claims have been investigated.
I do not believe Michael is a angel however I do not feel he is a monster, just as I do not feel the Schindlers have been honest either. I wish Terri would have put this in writing, however the Schindlers have made it very clear that even if Terri would have told them she wanted no method of life support they would not support her wishes. So it comes down to the basic fact, even if the Schindlers knew this is what Terri wanted they would do exactly what they are doing now.
Whittemore is an arrogant non G-D fearing piece of dirt. I hope G-D pulls the plug on him. His "rhetoric" sounds like Hitler.
Judge James Whittemore booked his permanent vaction. Check Matthew 25: 41-46 and this pretty well seals his fate. Oh so sorry judge! Not.
The two doctors that testified she could be "rehabilitated" were not credible. I would strongly suggest you go to abstract or the university of miami site and read the ad litum's report of December 2003 for yourself.
Most of what you are being told is NOT true. Read it for yourself and then see if you feel the same. I've read every single court document that is out there on this. I've researched the judges, and some of the witnesses.
But I don't expect you to believe me - the truth is out there if you want to find it.
and...there is NO money....the only ones making money are the ones who are collecting money for Terri's legal costs and the mythical rehab fund.
The judge is no better than Bin Laden. I can't believe this judge is doing this to this poor girl. He better hope that he does not have to make the same decision in his own family. As far as Michael goes, I hope you and your new family rot in hell.
Judge James Whittemore must be a Nazi.
Judges like this need to be put in prison for murder! Along with the husband. That is what happens to a nation when they throw God out of it. We get lawless judges with way to much power, running things. Gods judgement will come, thank God I am a Christian. Because He will not have any mercy on the unjust!!!!
Lisa Renee - you seem to be missing the bigger picture... I pity your ignorance. I understand what you are saying but you don't seem to understand what the rest are saying. You are very narrow minded. This is life, not a text book, and it is your outlook that needs to change, not your knowledge of the law. Anybody can read a law...
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