Unethical Greer

As the first anniversary of Terri Schiavo's death approaches, Judge George Greer and newlywed Michael Schiavo will be hitting the road together. They will be speaking at an ethics conference.

From Blogs for Terri:

Cirucit Court Judge George Greer is speaking during an April ethics symposium at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics. He will appear with Michael Schiavo, the Flordia man who won a 12-year legal battle in Greer's court and ended his wife's life by withholding nutrition and hydration.

The meeting, titled "The Legacy of the Terri Schiavo Case: Why is it so hard to die in America?" also features Dr. Ron Cranford, a well-known euthanasia advocate who drew national attention in the Terri Schiavo case by testifying that she was in a persistent vegetative state. Reportedly, he has been on the board of the Euthanasia Society of America, has ties to the Hemlock Society and testified similarly in other cases.

In an editorial entitled, "Eroding Public Confidence," the North Country Gazette explains how this speaking engagement enforces the notion that Greer is unfit to serve as a judge.

The preamble to Florida's Code of Judicial Conduct 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.

There's no exemption in there for Pinellas County's George W. Greer, the judge who signed Terri Schindler Schiavo's death warrant.

The role of the judiciary is central to American concepts of justice and the rule of law. Intrinsic to all sections of this Code are the precepts that judges, individually and collectively, must respect and honor the judicial office as a public trust and strive to enhance and maintain confidence in our legal system, the preamble says.

Pinellas' probate court judge Greer has done more, in our opinion, to erode the public confidence in the judiciary than any other judicial officer in the United States of America today.

He has made a mockery of the entire judicial system and he just keeps rubbing the public's nose in it, claiming he followed the rule of law, flaunting his arrogance, surfeited by himself. Does George Greer know the law or is just so callous he and all of his bar association affiliates believe he is above it?

Deference to the judgments and rulings of courts depends upon public confidence and the integrity and independence of judges…..Although judges should be independent, they must comply with the law, including the provisions of the judicial code. Public confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary is maintained by the adherence of each judge to this responsibility. Conversely, violation of this code diminishes public confidence in the judiciary and thereby does injury to the system of government under law.

And George Greer has certainly grossly diminished public confidence in this country's judiciary.

...George Greer has single-handedly made a mockery of the entire judicial process, not only in Florida, but nationwide. He blatantly violated state laws himself while virtually ignoring the guardianship laws of the state and allowing Michael Schiavo to violate those guardianship laws which were established to protect wards such as Terri Schiavo. He has blatantly violated the constitutional rights of Terri Schiavo and by doing so, the rights of all disabled not only in Florida, but in the nation.

How dare he appear at any symposium with any composition of the word ethics.

I share the opinion that "ethics" and "Greer" are oxymoronic.

Greer's flaunting of his political agenda brings to mind the uproar staged by the Democrats over Samuel Alito's personal beliefs.

During the Alito confirmation hearings and the Senate debate, Democrats insisted that Judge Alito would be incapable of being fair in upholding the law. They claimed he would ignore the Constitution in order to push his supposedly "out of the mainstream" conservative agenda.

I would like to know what these same Dems would have to say about Greer's ability to be impartial.

Like the North Country Gazette, I find it terribly inappropriate for the judge that ordered Terri Schiavo to be starved and dehydrated to death to be appearing with Michael Schiavo to answer the question, "Why is it so hard to die in America?"

Without a doubt, Greer is in bed with the "right to kill" crowd. He's not even pretending to be unbiased. His clear pro-death agenda should certainly give pause to anyone that would be unfortunate enough to enter his court with a case involving right to life issues.

Greer is acting as a far Left political advocate. He has completely compromised his integrity as a judge.

All of this means that Greer is displaying precisely the qualities that liberals look for in a judge -- a willingness to legislate a Leftist agenda from the bench, disenfranchise the people, and shred the Constitution.