It was Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George W. Greer, who was at the eye of the storm in last year's international debate over Terri Schindler Schiavo's death. Greer was the judge who ruled that Schiavo's feeding tube be removed, allowing her to die. So reviled was Greer at the time, deputies fearing for his physical safety escorted him to and from work.
It seems that every time a rock was lifted during the Terri Schiavo tragedy, another conflict of interest came slithering out.
Some of the main players pressing for Schiavo's death were on the board of directors of the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, which ran Woodside Hospice, where Terri died. Others were prominent members of the right-to-die crusade.
among these conflicts of interest was the Everett Rice-George Greer connection.
Rice, former Pinellas County Sheriff (1988-2004) endorsed Judge George Greer for reelection in campaign ads. Rice, a former board member for the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast,, hired Michael Schiavo while Schiavo's guardianship proceedings were being heard in the courtroom of his longtime friend, Judge George Greer.
For all of the insults hurled his way, at least Greer wasn't one of those unabashed right-to-die crusaders.
That was back then. This is now.
When folks gathered for the pro-euthanasia `Bioethics Symposium' at the University of Pennyslvania on Wednesday, Judge George W. Greer was there as a speaker.
Michael Schiavo, Dr. Ronald Cranford, who nicknamed himself, "Dr. Humane Death", Jay Wolfson and Mary Labyak, CEO of Woodside Hospice, where Terri was legally dehydrated and starved to death were there. Greer's presence brings the players in the Schiavo drama full circle.
One individual not impressed that Judge Greer seems to be moonlighting on the pro-euthanasia speaking circuit, is Bobby Schindler, the brother of the late Terri Schiavo.
"For Judge Greer to speak on "The Legacy of the Terri Schiavo Case' at a one-sided pro-death gathering without an opposing view or organized rebuttal is not only unethical for a sitting judge who still oversees precisely this type of case, it is a callous disregard for the preamble to the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct, which says that our legal system is based on the principle that an independent, fair and competent judiciary will interpret and apply the laws that govern us," Schindler said. "Judge Greer's participation in this event should cause fear and trembling for any disabled or vulnerable person whose fate is decided in his court."
according to Canon 2 of the Florida Judicial Code, "a judge shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all the judge's activities. a judge shall respect and comply with the law and shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary."
Says Schindler, "While canon 4 would allow Judge Greer to participate in quasi-judicial activities involving the law, the code requires that such an event should not cast reasonable doubt on the judges' capacity to remain impartial. For George Greer to speak at an event where Michael Schiavo, Jay Wolfson, Dr. Cranford, Ms. Labyak and others are appearing leaves little, if any doubt on how biased Greer is toward the disabled and his advocacy of promoting dehydration and starvation for our less fortunate brothers and sisters."
The Schindlers are urging that the Judicial Qualifications Commission review Judge Greer's activities–both within and outside the State of Florida–for the sake other vulnerable persons that may have to appear before him.
Meanwhile, when the family publicly stated years ago that Judge Greer has a pro-euthanasia, pro-death bias, which tempered his decisions in their daughter'a and sister's case that caused him to "unethically, immorally and illegally order her to die", they may have had a point.
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2018 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2018 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement