692:, and filed an amended motion for a TRO. Whittemore conducted a hearing on the motion the evening of March 24. When one of the Schindlers' attorneys described the removal of the feeding tube as "murder", Whittemore responded "hat is the emotional rhetoric of this case. It does not influence this court and cannot influence this court. I want you to know it, and I want the public to know it." During the hearing, the protesters that still surrounded the area outside the courthouse were temporarily evacuated, so that law enforcement could detonate a suspicious bag that turned out to be harmless. The hearing proceeded inside without interruption, and lasted around four hours.
652:(TRO) to replace the tube. As appropriate for the federal standard of review for a TRO motion, his ruling avoided the issue of whether the Congressional grant of jurisdiction was unconstitutional, as Michael Schiavo and most legal scholars had argued. Though three of the four elements of the federal TRO standard, including irreparable harm, were clearly satisfied by Schiavo's imminent death, Whittemore did not believe the Schindlers ultimately had a substantial likelihood of prevailing, but instead found each of their claims "without merit." Because the
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the withdrawal of the feeding tube based on discrimination against
Schiavo on the basis of her disability. Their claim under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was similarly flawed, in that no discrimination was present, and the United States Supreme Court had previously ruled that the Act did not apply to medical decisions. Their Eighth Amendment claim was also rejected by Whittemore, because the amendment's prohibition on
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their religious freedoms were being violated. "It's one thing to have blind faith," Whittemore told her. "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."
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in United States history. Whittemore sentenced Gerald to 27 years for conduct he called "absolutely despicable." Betty was sentenced to over 12 years, which was increased from what
Whittemore initially considered after she repeated a claim they were the innocent victims of government persecution and
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did not apply outside of criminal sanctions. Whittemore closed his order by conveying the court's "appreciation for the difficulties and heartbreak the parties have endured through this lengthy process." A panel of the same three
Circuit judges who heard the first appeal affirmed his decision once
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In an order issued the morning of March 25, Whittemore denied the
Schindlers' amended motion. Regarding their ADA claim, Whittemore wrote that the law was inapplicable because Mr. Schiavo and the hospice in care of Terri Schiavo did not fall under the Act's definition of "public entities", nor was
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again on March 25, with the judge who had previously dissented concurring in this second opinion. Rehearing was once again denied by the
Eleventh Circuit on March 30, and the Supreme Court also once again denied a stay the same day. The case ended with Schiavo's death on the morning of March 31.
422:, had claimed that the MLB draft was discriminatory because it had a different residency requirement for Cubans, but Whittemore decided that whatever financial loss Viera suffered from being subject to the draft did not satisfy the federal injunction requirement of
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Whittemore was appointed to a new seat that was one of four created in the Middle
District of Florida by Sec. 309 of 113 Stat. 1501; 106 P.L. 113, enacted November 29, 1999. Some online and media sources erroneously reported that he replaced the "retiring" Judge
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Whittemore presided over the criminal trial of Gerald and Betty Payne, the founders of
Greater Ministries International Church. Over $ 450 million was bilked from church followers in the Paynes' fraudulent investment scheme, which was billed as one of the largest
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violations alleged in the
Schindler's complaint were premised primarily on the procedures and orders in the Florida court proceedings, the state court history had to be considered by Whittemore despite the language of the congressional act, which called for a
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Confirmation hearings on federal appointments : hearings before the
Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixth Congress, first session, on confirmation of appointees to the federal judiciary. pt.2
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three years later as an associate at
Whittemore & Seybold, and then at Whittemore & Campbell from 1982 until 1987. In 1985, Whittemore successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court in
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the same day the law was passed, but adjourned without issuing any orders as Schiavo's feeding tube remained removed for the third day. On March 22, Whittemore issued a thirteen-page ruling that denied a
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review. Whittemore stated that the issues they raised had been "exhaustively litigated" and that Judge Greer had appropriately fulfilled his role as a judge under Florida and federal law. The
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or that she would have wanted to have life support withdrawn, but Schiavo, his expert witnesses, and court-appointed physicians had successfully argued the contrary before
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Circuit Court in the Florida Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, and remained on the court until 2000. He was named the 1998 Jurist of the Year by the Hillsborough County
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305:, before becoming one of the original four federal public defenders in the Middle District of Florida in 1978. Whittemore returned to private practice in
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722:. Hodges did not retire, however, but instead assumed senior status on May 2, 1999, and as of 2017 remains active on the court in the Ocala Division.
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before Schiavo's feeding tube was ordered removed for the third time by Judge Greer. Shortly after midnight on March 21, 2005, the
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to a new seat in the Florida Middle District Court on October 20, 1999. Whittemore was confirmed unanimously by the
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later the same day, 10–2. The United States Supreme Court also denied a stay without recorded dissent on March 24.
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passed an unprecedented law that gave the Middle District of Florida jurisdiction over the matter without any
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The Schindlers returned to Whittemore's courtroom, again amended their complaint to add claims based on the
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affirmed Whittemore's "carefully thought-out decision" in a 2-1 ruling on March 23, and denied rehearing
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Judge Whittemore's March 25, 2005 order denying amended motion for a Temporary Restraining Order
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to hear the seven-year-long fight over whether the brain-damaged Schiavo should be taken off
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Judge Whittemore's March 22, 2005 order denying motion for a Temporary Restraining Order
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in 1977. He briefly worked at Bauer, Morlan & Wells, a small law firm in
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on May 24, 2000, and received his commission the following day. He assumed
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United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton
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828:, March 21, 2005. A profile of the judge and his record.
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The first complaint filed by the Schindlers was based on
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had specifically given the Middle District of Florida
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Judge Hears Schiavo Arguments, but Does Not Rule Yet
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In 1990, Whittemore was elected to the bench of the
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430:that same week in the seventh round of the draft.
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291:Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
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596:Whittemore was randomly assigned to hear the
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833:Cuban pitcher denied request for free agency
324:. Whittemore's client had been convicted of
320:could not be used at trial to discredit his
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903:Judge Denies Latest Appeal in Schiavo Case
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391:On June 4, 2001, Whittemore ruled against
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819:Judge in Schiavo case a Clinton appointee
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1463:Stetson University College of Law alumni
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682:Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
90:May 25, 2000 – August 29, 2017
1458:People from Walterboro, South Carolina
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285:. He graduated with honors from the
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801:"US Supreme Court Orders - FindLaw"
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414:. Viera, represented by attorney
277:Background and early legal career
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231:United States district judge
226:(born August 29, 1952) is a
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650:temporary restraining order
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247:United States Supreme Court
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303:St. Petersburg, Florida
281:Whittemore was born in
243:federal public defender
957:William Terrell Hodges
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630:United States Congress
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478:Government involvement
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224:James David Whittemore
163:James David Whittemore
113:William Terrell Hodges
23:James David Whittemore
783:"FindLaw Legal Blogs"
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251:Major League Baseball
198:University of Florida
383:on August 29, 2017.
377:United States Senate
930:James D. Whittemore
836:, by Fred Goodall,
626:Florida Legislature
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343:Hillsborough County
257:procedure, and the
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598:Terri Schiavo case
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192:
188:
184:
180:
175:(age 72)
161:
157:
152:
148:
142:
137:
134:
131:Judge of the
129:
126:
125:Thomas Barber
123:
117:
114:
111:
105:
102:
99:
93:
87:
82:
79:
76:Judge of the
74:
67:
62:
58:
57:
51:
48:
44:
40:
36:
32:
27:
20:
1161:
962:
933:
907:
902:
890:
885:
876:
871:
862:
861:
853:
849:
841:
832:
823:
818:
795:
786:
727:
713:
694:
679:
672:
662:
638:
614:George Greer
602:life support
595:
539:George Felos
533:
529:George Greer
488:Schiavo memo
443:
432:
420:Joe Kehoskie
390:
373:Bill Clinton
356:
340:
311:
295:Juris Doctor
280:
271:life support
267:jurisdiction
223:
222:
140:
120:Succeeded by
101:Bill Clinton
96:Appointed by
85:
65:
54:
43:Senior Judge
1418:1952 births
1137:Schlesinger
1127:Kovachevich
684:(ADA), the
654:due process
498:Living will
108:Preceded by
1412:Categories
1389:S. Georgia
1341:N. Georgia
1318:M. Georgia
1240:S. Florida
1212:N. Florida
1162:Whittemore
1119:M. Florida
1091:S. Alabama
1053:N. Alabama
1025:M. Alabama
971:2000–2017
743:References
688:, and the
418:and agent
412:free agent
366:Republican
362:Bob Graham
169:1952-08-29
1379:Totenberg
1192:Honeywell
1187:Covington
1061:Blackburn
1038:Albritton
843:USA Today
645:complaint
416:Alan Gura
194:Education
145:1990–2000
141:In office
86:In office
56:Incumbent
1253:Gonzalez
1220:Stafford
1182:Presnell
1033:Thompson
825:ABC News
560:Category
468:Timeline
400:baseball
359:Democrat
1374:Pannell
1225:Collier
1157:Lazzara
1152:Bucklew
1132:Fawsett
1104:Granade
1081:Hopkins
1071:Johnson
1043:Watkins
932:at the
812:Sources
787:Findlaw
674:en banc
664:de novo
641:hearing
610:Florida
237:of the
45:of the
1364:Thrash
1354:Cooper
1278:Lenard
1273:Hurley
1268:Graham
1263:Moreno
1230:Hinkle
1197:Dalton
1172:Steele
1167:Antoon
1142:Conway
1109:Steele
1099:Butler
1076:Bowdre
764:(2000)
634:regard
618:review
404:enjoin
228:senior
186:Spouse
181:, U.S.
1397:Bowen
1369:Story
1349:Evans
1331:Royal
1326:Sands
1308:Scola
1298:Marra
1288:Seitz
1258:Zloch
1202:Davis
1177:Moody
1147:Adams
1066:Smith
705:Notes
397:Cuban
307:Tampa
297:from
255:draft
69:
1359:Hunt
1303:Cohn
1293:Huck
1283:Gold
1248:King
656:and
395:, a
364:and
202:BSBA
159:Born
840:.
1414::
785:.
770:^
751:^
273:.
211:JD
171:)
1008:e
1001:t
994:v
942:.
803:.
789:.
585:e
578:t
571:v
213:)
209:(
204:)
200:(
167:(
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