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Just when you thought you'd heard it all, along comes Florida's Judge George W. Greer---adding insult to death.
Do you remember the schoolyard bully that taunted everyone---na, na, na, na-na---and loved to laud his abrasiveness and self-perceived superiority---lord of the playground?
Schoolyard bullies seek constant attention for themselves and have no second thoughts about abusing others---especially those who are unable to defend themselves like the disabled and handicapped, women and children.
As psychologists have noted, most schoolyard bullies only pick on others because they have a negative self-image and their personality defects spawn brutality, extroversion, irrationality and possible insecurity.
Sometimes those schoolyard bullies become judges and wrap their abusive nature in their black robe and become courtroom bullies.
Lawyers and jurists in the state of Florida have spent the past year rubbing the public's nose in the robes of George Greer, that short, dictatorial, bald-headed egotist who exerted his power over a disabled woman, not only ordering that her feeding tube be removed but taking the extraordinary, inhumane step of ordering that no efforts could be made of even oral hydration or nutrition. He claimed he was her guardian, looking after her best interest. He never ever once personally visited his ward.
Michael Schiavo loves to condemn Bill Frist and others for deciding that Terri Schiavo wasn't in a persistent vegetative state by watching videos and without having examined her or visited her. Of course Michael controlled who did visit her.
George Greer decided she was PVS. He's no doctor and he had no firsthand knowledge of her condition.
The lawyers and judges are still trying to convince the public that Greer's death edict was the right thing to do.
It wasn't.
Even with lawyers and bioethicists constantly parading Greer before the public and flaunting his arrogance and ego, thumbing their collective noses at the citizenry will never make Greer's death edict the right thing. Two wrongs don't make a right.
Judging from his attitude and comments at the UPenn bioethicist conference with Michael Schiavo, Ronald "Dr. Death" Cranford, Arthur Caplan and other Schiavo principals, Greer actually enjoyed taking their daughter away from the Schindler family.
For over seven years, Pinellas County probate court judge George W. Greer rebuffed virtually every legal effort to save the life of Terri Schindler Schiavo, a vulnerable, incapacitated adult. He obstinately and arrogantly rebuked Congress, federal marshals, the Pope, the Governor and the President---because he's judicially independent you know. In many circles, it's called an abuse of power.
In the year that has followed since Greer became the Dr. Kervorkian of the black robe cult, the legal profession has created awards for this individual, trying to make George Greer their martyr. Greer's unabashed arrogance and outright insensitivity for the disabled and litigants, most recently disparaging the appeal process and constitutional right to due process, is an affront to the public, an unconscionable display of hypocritical arrogance in the eyes of many, flaunting alleged misconduct, failure to comply with Florida law, now proven and demonstrated criminal wrongdoing and lack of ethics which existed throughout the pendency of the case.
The legal profession, including Greer's fellow members of the judiciary, have made a mockery of the justice system by lauding and rewarding Greer's judicial tyranny and activism.
Throughout the Schiavo case, the mainstream media was a partner with Greer in tainting the public's view of the Schiavo case. The St. Petersburg Times helped to slant public opinion favorably towards Michael Schiavo and negatively away from Terri's right to live and her parents' decade long battle to simply take her home and care for her. Let's not forget though, that Arthur Caplan, bioethicist and Michael Schiavo supporter, is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Times' owner.
The Times stroked Greer, trying to improve his image. They preened George Felos and pampered Michael Schiavo---oh, poor Michael. It's got to be rough to have to spend all that estate that he thought was his instead on legal fees to kill his wife, approved by Greer and all financial records sealed by Greer so there's no accountability.
The Times wasn't engaged in reporting the news impartially, they were Michael Schiavo's unpaid public relations agency with Schiavo's biggest fan Caplan being his spokesman. The Times brags about doing investigative work. Where was their unbiased investigation of the Schiavo case and why didn't they pressure Pinellas state attorney Bernie McCabe to act, or gubernatorial wannabe Charlie Crist in his role as attorney general?
Unbelievably, now George Greer is going to serve on the "faculty" of the inaugural "Journalist Law School" at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles from June 14-17.
Now Greer is going to tell journalists how to report the news. This is the height of hypocrisy. No wonder the media is biased when the lawyers and the judges are controlling the media. Whatever happened to independent journalism?
Greer's participation is being sponsored by none other than the Florida Chapters of the American Board of Trial Adocates (ABOTA), that same group of lawyers that claim that they advocate "Justice by the People", who last year had the audacity to chose Greer along with U.S. District Court judge James Whittemore of Tampa as jurists of the year---honoring the two jurists most responsible for facilitating the death of an innocent helpless woman.
The life of Terri Schindler-Schiavo was in the hands of Greer and Whittemore, and both sealed her death warrant, aided and abetted by Charlie Crist, the chief law enforcement officer of the state who turned his head in indifference---apparently more concerned with his own political future than the life of a helpless human being.
According to the news release issued, Loyola's Journalist Law School (pilot program) will consist of a three day long intensive seminar for working journalists who report on the government, the courts, and individual court cases. Does George Greer ever tend to his duties that Pinellas County taxpayers are paying him to do or is he on a perpetual road show?
"The law school is designed to help journalists, who are trying to provide accurate information to the public, but who may not have a legal background," said John T. Nockleby, professor of law and director of the Loyola Law School's Civil Justice Program. "The goal is to enhance their understanding of the judicial branch."http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060512/daf023.html?.v=48
George Greer is going to enhance a journalist's understanding of the judicial branch and teach journalists how to provide accurate information to the public? The whole Schiavo case was based on a lie. George Greer is the last person who should be teaching journalists anything except giving them a first hand view of judicial misconduct, how not to disgrace the black robe. Doesn't it figure that he's from Brooklyn---the current nucleus of judicial misconduct in New York State.
The judge who ignored the rule of law, who failed to qualify for office, who violated election law, guardianship law, violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, openly promotes euthanasia, got thrown out of his own church, violated a disabled woman's due process and equal protection under the law, who allowed a falsified guardianship application to control a court proceeding, who acted in complicity in allowing Medicaid and Medicare fraud is going to teach journalists the law and tell them how to cover the courts? There is definitely something wrong with this picture. That is definitely fraud by the court.
Is that what could be called an oxymoron?
"The 2005 recipient of the prestigious FLABOTA Jurist of the Year Award, Judge Greer has also been the recipient of several other honors recognizing his unwavering commitment to following the rule of law in the face of unprecedented pressure from the public and the government in the matter of Terri Schiavo", ABOTA says "Based on the intense scrutiny and media coverage generated by the Schiavo case, Judge Greer will bring a unique perspective to the journalists in attendance".
Unique it is---promoting legalized homicide, showing how witnesses can offer self-serving hearsay testimony, giving clear and convincing lies, resulting in the death of an innocent woman and establishing case law precedent for unabashed judicial homicide and euthanasia in our Republic in order to save the Social Security system and cost Medicaid and Medicare costs. Is that the theme of Greer's presentation?
Among the organizations scheduled to participate is CBS News, you know, that news organization that published Terri Schiavo's obituary before she died? They need to learn how to report accurate information.
ABOTA's choice of Greer as 'jurist of the year' was an 'in your face' affirmation of arrogance as is Greer being on the "faculty" of the contrived law school for journalists. Greer should have been banned from the profession of law, the poster boy for judicial bullying.
According to their website, the ABOTA was formed in 1957 when the jury system was under fierce attack by the press, legislators, judges and scholars.
The preservation of the civil jury trial, "Justice by the People", is the primary purpose of ABOTA, according to their website.
"Thomas Jefferson was of the opinion that the right to trial by a jury of fellow citizens was a more important safeguard of personal liberty than the right to vote", ABOTA says. "With a jury, the rights and duties of each of us will be decided by our fellow citizens, not by some bureaucrat or governmental functionary".
Terri Schiavo was denied not only her right to a trial by a jury of fellow citizens, but she was even denied her right to legal representation with Greer himself acting in the prohibited dual role of guardian ad litem and judge.
The purported purpose of ABOTA is to "foster improvement in the ethical and technical standards of practice in the field of advocacy to the end that individual litigants may receive more effective representation and the general public be benefited by more efficient administration of justice consistent with time-tested and traditional principles of litigation".
Elevating the standards of integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession is listed as one of the specific purposes of ABOTA as well as to establish relations and cooperate with other legal organizations and associations for the purposes of promoting the efficient administration of justice and constant improvement of the law; and to cultivate a spirit of loyalty, fellowship, and professionalism among our members; to advance the interests of the members of the Association professionally and to enable trial lawyers as a group to have an active association of standing in the community and nation through which they may learn and be heard which some assert constitutes nothing more than a "good ole boys club".
Greer's fellow lawyers and jurists have consistently been in the face of the public, supporting the judicial homicide of Terri Schiavo by heaping honor upon honor upon him despite the known ethical violations, misconduct and legal errors in the case.
The charade has to stop. No matter how many awards are bestowed upon him, no matter how many times he appears with bioethicists and Michael Schiavo, no matter how he tries to claim that there was clear and convincing evidence, George Greer will never be able to morally, ethically and legally justify the killing of an innocent woman and setting the stage for mass extermination of the elderly and disabled in America.
That is and will always be George Greer's legacy. June Maxam 5-12-06
Those wishing to express their opinions concerning Greer's latest appointment may contact Mindy Boggs (850) 893-0323 mboggs51@comcast.net
© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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