BREAKING NEWS ~ Federal judge refuses Schiavo tube reconnection again News
BREAKING NEWS ~ Federal judge refuses Schiavo tube reconnection again

[JURIST] US District Judge James Whittemore has denied a second emergency request from Terri Schiavo's parents to reconnect the brain-damaged woman's feeding tube. Whittemore denied a first request on Tuesday [JURIST report; PDF ruling], but after that was unsuccessfully appealed all the way to the US Supreme Court [JURIST report] lawyers for the Schindlers filed an amended complaint [PDF] on new legal grounds and sought a further stay authorizing tube re-insertion pending trial. Observers expect this latest ruling to be similarly appealed all the way up the line, although chances of success at any of these subsequent stages appear very slim.

8:05 AM ET – An AP story is now available here.

8:50 AM ET – Read Judge Whittemore's order [PDF], rejecting the Schindlers' contentions under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Fourteenth Amendment and the Eighth Amendment.

9:20 AM ET – AP is reporting that the Schindlers have filed an appeal, as expected.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.