James D. Whittemore

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James David Whittemore
Hillsborough County Circuit Court for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida
In office
1990–2000
Personal details
Born
James David Whittemore[1]

(1952-08-29) August 29, 1952 (age 71)[1]
Walterboro, South Carolina, U.S.[1]
SpouseMartha K. Watford[1]
EducationUniversity of Florida (BSBA)
Stetson University (JD)

James David Whittemore (born August 29, 1952) is a

Terri Schiavo case, after the United States Congress had specifically given the Middle District of Florida jurisdiction to hear the seven-year-long fight over whether the brain-damaged Schiavo should be taken off life support
.

Background and early legal career

Whittemore was born in

sexual battery
; the Court's ruling secured him a new trial. From 1987 until 1990, Whittemore was a sole practitioner in Tampa.

Judicial career

State judicial service

In 1990, Whittemore was elected to the bench of the Hillsborough County 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 Bar Association, and Outstanding Jurist of 1999 by the Florida Bar's Young Lawyers Division.

Federal judicial service

After recommendation by both of Florida's United States Senators,

Republican Connie Mack III, he was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a new seat[note 1] in the Florida Middle District Court on October 20, 1999. Whittemore was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate on May 24, 2000, and received his commission the following day. He assumed senior status
on August 29, 2017.

Notable cases

On June 4, 2001, Whittemore ruled against

irreparable harm. Viera was picked by the Boston Red Sox
that same week in the seventh round of the draft.

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 Ponzi schemes 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 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."

Schiavo ex rel. Schindler v. Schiavo

Articles relating to the
Terri Schiavo case
Others involved
Category

Whittemore was randomly assigned to hear the

United States Supreme Court, and was unsuccessfully challenged by the Florida Legislature before Schiavo's feeding tube was ordered removed for the third time by Judge Greer. Shortly after midnight on March 21, 2005, the United States Congress passed an unprecedented law that gave the Middle District of Florida jurisdiction over the matter without any regard
to previous state court decisions.

While protesters demonstrated outside his courthouse, Whittemore conducted a

equal protection 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 de novo 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 Eleventh Circuit affirmed Whittemore's "carefully thought-out decision" in a 2-1 ruling on March 23,[2] and denied rehearing en banc later the same day, 10–2.[2] The United States Supreme Court also denied a stay without recorded dissent on March 24.[3]

The Schindlers returned to Whittemore's courtroom, again amended their complaint to add claims based on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Eighth Amendment, 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 "[t]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.

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 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 cruel and unusual punishment 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 again on March 25, with the judge who had previously dissented concurring in this second opinion.[2] Rehearing was once again denied by the Eleventh Circuit on March 30,[2] 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.

Notes

  1. ^ 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 William Terrell Hodges. 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.
  2. ^ The first complaint filed by the Schindlers was based on habeas corpus and was amended prior to the hearing.

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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 (2000)
  2. ^ "US Supreme Court Orders - FindLaw".

Sources

Schiavo ex rel. Schindler v. Schiavo

External links

Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
2000–2017 		Succeeded by
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