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Six of the 15 members are judges.
Three have connections to Pinellas County.
Two members have direct ties to the Sixth Judicial Court and Judge George W. Greer.
One member is a judge on the 2nd District Court of Appeals, the court which upheld every Greer decision in the Terri Schindler Schiavo case.
When Greer was feted last May by the West Pasco Bar Association, one member was the guest speaker and lauded Greer for his rulings in the Schiavo case.
The 15-member Florida Judicial Qualification Commission has provided an invincible shield for Greer. No matter how many judicial canons and Florida laws he allegedly violates, he's not held accountable.
The good ole boy network is alive and vigilant in Florida.
Apparently a pact has been made that regardless of the documentation and evidence that exists concerning Greer's alleged violations of law and ethics rules, he won't be held accountable.
That's not saying that he has done no wrong.
The definition of collusion is "a secret agreement between two or more parties for a fraudulent, illegal or deceitful purpose".
 It's been blatantly obvious for years that the lawyers, judges, legislators and others have banded together to protect George W. Greer. In their way of thinking, there never can be an admission that Greer acted wrongly in the unprecedented judicial death order of a handicapped woman based solely on self-serving hearsay by a intensely conflicted spouse in name only.
It's not a conspiracy theory that the protection of Greer and others responsible for the untimely death of Terri Schindler Schiavo has been manipulated by powerful and influential people or organizations from behind the scenes.
Although several well documented complaints have been filed against Greer alleging violations of Florida's Code of Judicial Conduct in addition to violates of state law, in each and every situation no action has been taken with the judicial commission either stating the acts don't constitute a violation or that its not in their jurisdiction.
The state of Florida has one of the worst records for judicial discipline, sanctioning only 26 judges in the past five years. Currently, of the nearly 1,000 judges in the state, only two have disciplinary proceedings pending, one from St. Lucie County and the other from Volusia County. In a third proceeding, Judge John Sloop of Seminole County has been removed from office by the Florida Supreme Court but Sloop has filed for a rehearing.
The Florida JQC doesn't have it's own website. The names of the members aren't published except in court filings.
State law says no public officer can accept compensation, payment or thing of value, including government employees using their official titles in an attempt to influence a vote or other action, including an election.
Canon 7 of the Code of Judicial Conduct says that no candidate, including an incumbent judge for a judicial office, can solicit attorneys for publicly stated support.
According to an investigative report by the Florida Elections Commission, James Hellickson, an assistant state attorney in the Pinellas County office of state attorney Bernie McCabe, told an investigator that Greer asked him to appear in a televised political commercial for Greer's reelection. According to the judicial cannons, such is prohibited.
   
In May, Greer appeared as the lead speaker at the 10th anniversary symposium of the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics in Philadelphia, Pa., the theme of which was "The Legacy of the Terri Schiavo Case: Why Is It So Hard To Die in America". He spoke on the topic of "Who Should Decide: Courts/Legislators", joining Michael Schiavo (above, left), and principals and witnesses in the Schiavo case including guardian ad litem Jay Wolfson (above, second from left), euthanasia advocate Dr. Ronald Cranford (above, second from right) and Mary Labyak (above, right), CEO of the Hospice of Florida Suncoast.
An ethics opinion issued by the Florida Supreme Court has ruled that a judge cannot ethically engage in extra-judicial conduct such as to present an address at a symposium on a specific legal issue. By appearing with the principals involved in the Schiavo case, Greer associated himself with an advocacy group, advocates for euthanasia and assisted suicide, both of which are prohibited by law in Florida.
Canon 2 of Florida's Judicial Code says that "a judge shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all of 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. http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/080206ProbableCause.html
Despite the egregious, very public use of public employees and public property in filming his 2004 political commercial, using a county courthouse, a uniformed sheriff's officer, his court bailiff, a county-owned patrol car of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Department which lent the appearance that the sheriff's department, the state attorney's office and public defender's office endorsed Greer for reelection as judge, the Judicial Qualifications Commission says it doesn't constitute a violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct. They failed to address the issue of Greer's alleged violations of state law prohibiting the use of public employees paid with taxpayer money for political purposes.
Greer's 2004 campaign commercial also allegedly violated Florida Statutes by utilizing the services of public employees during working hours, according to their time sheets, and the commercial was filmed on county property during working hours. Florida canons prohibit courtrooms from being used for political purposes. While Greer claims that he requested permission in writing from Chief Judge David Demers, there is no such written request on file.
The JQC also says that Greer's public advocacy for euthanasia groups isn't actionable despite Supreme Court rulings saying it's prohibited as is euthanasia.
So how is Greer escaping accountability? Why hasn't he been disciplined by the JQC? Perhaps one only need look at the names and positions of the 15 commission members and then look at the courts to which they're attached or the law firms where they were formerly associated, many of which were contributors to Greer's 2004 election campaign.
The tangled web of deceit continues in the Schiavo case.
Greer's legacy is that he's killing judge in the case of Terri Schindler Schiavo, the woman who sustained brain injuries in 1990 at age 26 and left no living will. Her husband, Michael Schiavo claimed that she would not want to be kept alive by a feeding tube and battled her parents in the courts for nearly a decade for a court order to end her life, initially trying to end the woman's life without even informing her parents.
According to already established ethics opinions, Greer egregiously violated Florida's Code of Judicial Conduct and every other state's Code of Judicial Conduct by appearing in Philadelphia and at other such public gatherings which promote the singular interests of such groups.
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/050306OverTheLine.html
The "Rule of Terri" controlled the Terri Schindler Schiavo case.
If following a legal procedure would likely result in Terri dying, it was adhered to but if a procedure could make that outcome more difficult to attain, it would not be followed.
Patricia Fields Anderson coined the phrase while representing Bob and Mary Schindler, Terri's parents, as they struggled to keep their daughter alive and care for her.
The Rule of Terri continues in trying to hold Greer accountable.
Pinellas Court probate judge Greer of Clearwater carries the distinction of being the first judge in the United States to order the judicial homicide of a disabled woman under highly questionable circumstances and multiple conflicts of the husband in name only who presented only self-serving hearsay that Terri would want to die by dehydration, forced to go without all food and water until she died.
No matter how much proof is presented against Michael Schiavo, Greer or any of the principals of the case, they escape accountability.
Greer has become the Teflon Judge, he keeps evading and manipulating the law, creating Greer's Law. Nothing seems to stick to him, regardless of the evidence amassed. Such a public display of flouting the law and judicial ethics is a seriously impedes the public's confidence in the judiciary and government overall.
Greer failed to qualify for office, he provably violated election law in 1998 and again in 2004 with the filing of his oath.
Greer flagrantly defied Congressional subpoenas. He escaped federal contempt charges.
He openly and boldly violated guardianship laws. No sanctions for him.
He boldly engaged in the prohibited dual role of judge and guardian ad litem in the Schiavo case while at the same time denying the handicapped woman her right to independent legal counsel. He asserted jurisdiction he didn't have.
His list of alleged judicial misconduct and alleged ethics violations is long and egregious and the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission has refused to take action as has the Florida Elections Commission.
Judicial disciplinary commissions, supposedly oversight agencies for the judiciary, exist in all 50 states, giving the appearance that they are policing the judiciary. Except in a few outrageous cases which they can't ignore, they don't police anyone, instead throwing up an iron curtain around the judge.
As the Florida-based Citizens for Judicial Accountability has opined, a nonpartisan citizens' grassroots organization, rather than discipline and remove judges, it seems that the primary function of the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission is to inform the complaining parties that the commission has no jurisdiction over their complaint and to provide job security for the judge.
The JQC is supposed to be an independent agency created by the Florida Constitution solely to investigate alleged misconduct by Florida state judges. It claims it is not a part of the Florida Supreme Court or the state courts and operates under rules it establishes for itself, an autonomy unto itself. However, the docket and other information pertaining to the JQC appears on the website for the Supreme Court, making it appear as though it's an arm of the court.
In Florida, effective Jan. 1, there are 983 judges but since 2001, only 26 judges have been disciplined by the JQC. Circuit court judges total 599, 322 county judges and 62 judges in the four district courts of appeals.
There are no statistics listed for the JQC, no annual reports although it appears that they receive over 500 complaints a year. The commission's confidentiality provision, again protecting judges, is one of the most objectionable provisions of the process. As the CJA acknowledges, since formal charges are made by the JQC in only about five cases of the more than 500 complaints that they receive annually, since 2001 several thousand complaints against judges, including those against Greer, are cloaked in secrecy and there is no way of knowing how many complaints have been filed against a specific judge or the nature of those complaints. There is no accountability for the JQC.
The JQC is authorized to investigate allegations of misconduct by any state court judge, from the county court up through the Supreme Court. If the judges are held accountable, they are subject to suspension and removal.
The JQC doesn't even give the illusion of investigating a bona fide ethics complaint against Greer although established judicial ethics opinions have determined that such behavior and actions as undertaken by Greer violate the state's Code of Judicial Conduct.
The JQC appears to be little more than an agency designed to make it appear that there is oversight of the state's judiciary, just more smoke and mirrors. Although acknowledging that they receive an average of over 500 complaints a year, indicating that the public perceives a serious existing in Florida's judiciary, since its formation in 1970, in 36 years only 69 judges have been disciplined and only 13 removed from the bench according to The Florida Bar. Ten out of the 13 judges removed from the bench were elected, the other three were appointed. The Florida Bar - Merit Selection and Retention
The JQC doesn't even bother to give the appearance that they will consider any serious, documented complaints against Greer, essentially dismissing any and all complaints of judicial misconduct against Greer as soon as they are filed even though there are established judicial ethics opinions which prohibit the conduct in which Greer is engaged.
"The members of the Investigative Panel of the Judicial Qualifications Commission met on (some arbitrary date) and considered your complaint filed in the above-styled matter", the form letter states without identifying the judge in question. "After full review and consideration of the complaint, the Commission concluded that the matter does not constitute a violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct warranting further proceedings before the Commission. Accordingly, the Commission has requested I advise you that the complaint has been dismissed and the file closed".
Ethical standards for judges are called the Code of Judicial Conduct which is applicable to all sitting judges.
That Code addresses improper political activity as well as other actions by a judge but despite established ethics rulings already establishing that activity such as that engaged in by George Greer is improper, he has escaped all discipline.
Perhaps the makeup of the commission helps explains Greer's immunity from accountability. Instead of being removed from the bench as warranted for improper extrajudicial and political activities prohibited by the judicial code, Greer was lauded after he was successful in causing the public 13-day execution of a 41-year-old handicapped woman.
 Gov. Jeb Bush, death penalty groups and the Roman Catholic Church are aghast that it took 34 minutes for Angel Diaz, a convicted murderer, to die by lethal injection, saying it was cruel and unusual punishment but yet St. Petersburg Bishop Robert Lynch and many others seemingly found nothing cruel and unusual by causing a disabled woman to die of dehydration over 13 days while the whole world watched.
There are 15 members of the JQC. Two must be district court of appeal judges chosen by all the judges of the five district courts. Two must be circuit court judges chosen by all the judges of the 20 judicial circuits. Two must be county court judges chosen by all the judges of the 67 county courts. Four must be registered voters who also are lawyers, chosen by the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar. The final five must be non-lawyers who are registered voters, chosen by the Governor.
In the Schiavo case, the 2nd District Court of Appeals repeatedly rubber stamped and upheld Greer's decisions, often with a "per curiam affirmed" giving no further explanation and precluding a further appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. Any request for clarification and rehearing is simply declined with a "denied".
When one explores the makeup of the JQC, it's obvious why George Greer has been granted total immunity.
In May, 2005, less than 10 weeks after Terri Schiavo's death, members of the West Pasco Bar Association honored Greer, in part for his handling of the Schiavo case, awarding him the "Special Justice Award".
The guest speaker for the evening was none other than 2nd District Court of Appeal Judge Morris Silberman, lauding Greer for his decision and order to kill Terri Schiavo.
If Silberman, whose wife is Nelly Khouzam, Greer's fellow judge in the Sixth Judicial Circuit and who was briefly assigned to the Schiavo case, sees no ethical problems with that, no wonder the Judicial Qualifications Commission has failed to hold Greer and many other judges in the state accountable.
Greer was honored for his "selfless devotion and service" during the Terri Schiavo care and his career on the bench, never mind his violations of guardianship laws, ignoring federal subpoenas, failure to enforce orders except for his death order and other violations although he claims to have followed the "rule of law".
He didn't follow the rule of the law, he followed "Greer's Law".
It's hard to have confidence in the judiciary, in the court system, in the agencies which are supposed to be providing oversight when they're all protecting each other, all stroking each other such as Silberman did with Greer.
Silberman had his own law firm in Clearwater, at the same time that Greer was practicing zoning law, land use and real estate law in Clearwater and at a time when Greer was Pinellas County Commissioner.
Greer became well-known as a county commissioner with close relations to powerful developers in Pinellas County during his eight years on the commission from 1985 until he was elected judge in 1992. Greer was integrally involved in the Coopers Point scandal. http://www.thestraights.com/articles/coopers-point.htm
Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Silberman to the 2nd DCA in November 2000, just in time for the Schiavo appeals to be heard at the 2nd DCA. Prior to going into private practice with his wife, Silberman was a senior litigation associate with the law firm of Richards, Gilkey, Fite, Slaughter, Pratesi & Ward.
According to the records of the Florida Division of Elections, Silberman's former law firm contributed the maximum in campaign contributions to Greer and firm principals Slaughter, Richards and Gilkey also made individual contributions to Greer.
Silberman's wife, Nelly Khouzam, a judge in the Sixth Judicial Circuit since 1994 with Greer, was briefly assigned to the Schiavo case in 2003 with Judge Douglas Baird.
Khouzam, currently the administrative judge for the Sixth Circuit's civil division, was awarded the Judicial Excellence Award in June 2006 and had been named by the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) as its Florida Jurist of the Year in 2002.
Greer and U.S. District Court Judge James Whittemore of Tampa, the two judges most responsible for the death of Terri Schindler Schiavo, were named as the 2005 ABOTA Jurists of the Year. Governor-elect Charlie Crist presented the awards to them, saying that he was "proud" of both judges. "You are heroes to all of us", Crist said, and your defense of the judiciary and what is right is beyond admirable".
It's always the same names. They all hang together or most assuredly they will also hang separately.
In January, 2004, Judge W. Douglas Baird who ultimately declared Terri's Law unconstitutional, the law enacted by the Florida Legislature at the behest of Gov. Jeb Bush to reinsert the feeding tube which had been removed from Terri Schiavo in October, 2003, was rotated from Pinellas County's civil bench to its criminal bench. His caseload was transferred to Judge Khouzam. Although Judge Khouzam's assistant initially confirmed that the Schiavo case had been transferred to Khouzam, Baird retained the case and ultimately declared Terri's Law unconstitutional, setting the stage for Greer's third and final death order.
The chairman of the JQC's hearing panel is Judge Thomas B. Freeman of Clearwater, another Pinellas County judge, another Greer compatriot, serving in the criminal division.
Freeman and Judge Peggy Gehl of Fort Launderdale are the two JQC members chosen by the Conference of County Court judges. Judge Paul L. Backman of Fort Lauderdale and Judge David Young of Miami were selected by the Conference of Circuit Court Judges and Silberman and Judge James R. Wolf of Tallahassee were chosen by the Conference of District Court of Appeal Judges.
Members appointed by the Governor are Shirlee Browne of Tallahassee, Lenoard Haber, Miami; Stanley Tate of Miami; the Rev. Randolph Bracy of Orlando and Rick Morales III of Jacksonville.
The four members named to the JQC by the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar are John Cardillo of Naples, Miles McGrane III of Miami, Howard Coker of Jacksonville and Martin Garcia of St. Petersburg.
Bowne is a real estate broker and in 2001, was nominated by President Bush to become chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Board. Two days before the Senate Banking Committee' confirmation hearing, she withdrew her name.
Dr. Haber of Miami is the director of Psychological Associates, a forensic psychologist and child psychology specialist.
Tate was instrumental in the early development of the Florida Prepaid College Board and served as the chairman of the board during the program's first 18 years, from 1987 to 2005.
Rev. Bracy is chairman of the Social Justice Commission for the African American Counsel of Clergy in Orlando while Ricardo Morales III of Jacksonville is a real estate developer, president of Morales Construction Co. and a member of the board of trustees of WJCT Public Broadcasting.
Cardillo practices criminal law in Naples; McGrane of Coral Gables specializes in professional malpractice law and personal injury. McGrane has also been president of The Florida Bar.
Attorney Coker of Jacksonville is a former president of The Florida Bar and member of the Fourth Circuit Grievance Committee. He specializes in health and health care law while Martin Garcia served on the Bar's Board of Governors and chairman of the Trial Lawyers Section of The Florida Bar. He is past president of the Tampa Bay Chapter for the American Board of Trial Advocates, the organization which chose Greer and Whittemore as 2005 Jurists of the Year for killing Terri Schiavo.
Wolf, a judge on the First District Court of Appeal, served as chief judge from 2003-2005 and is a former chairman of the JQC and a former assistant state attorney in the 15th Judicial Circuit.
Young is an openly gay judge sitting the 11th Circuit in Miami in the criminal division handling juvenile cases and willl host a TV show in 2007 on Sony Pictures Television. Young, a former prosecutor and private criminal trial lawyer, whose very public boyfriend is Judge Scott Bernstein, says that a person's sexuality is irrelevant to being a judge and says that a judge should be a role model for the entire community.
Rounding out the 15-member JQC is Judge Paul L. Backman of Fort Lauderdale, administrative judge for the 17th Circuit in Broward County and Peggy Gehl, Broward County judge and editor of the County Court Courier.
The Judicial Qualifications Commission doesn't even bother to give the appearance that they will consider any serious, documented complaints against Greer, essentially dismissing any and all complaints of judicial misconduct against Greer as soon as they are filed even though there are established judicial ethics opinions which prohibit the conduct in which Greer is engaged.
A complaint against Greer for appearing as the lead speaker bioethics symposium in May at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pa., was summarily dismissed by the JQC in a terse one paragraph statement issued July 17. COMPLAINT
No one from the other side of the Schiavo case was invited to speak at the symposium thus it was clearly to advocate for the right to die movement.
In its refusal to review Greer's appearance, James Wolf, JQC chairman said that "the members of the Investigative Panel of the Judicial Qualifications Commission met on Friday, July 14 and considered your complaint filed in the above styled matter. After FULL (emphasis added) consideration of the complaint, the commission concluded that the matter does not warrant further proceedings by the commission. Accordingly, the commission has requested I advise you that the complaint has been dismissed and the file closed".
RESPONSE TO COMPLAINT
By Greer appearing with the plaintiffs in the Schiavo case, many contend that he gave the appearance of bias in favor of killing the disabled and lent the prestige of his judicial office to advance the private interests of Cranford, Michael Schiavo, George Felos, Wolfson, Labyak and bioethicist Arthur Caplan in addition to the others appearing at the bioethics symposium.
According to ethics rulings, Canon 2B is a general prohibition against a judge from lending the prestige of judicial office to advance the private interests of the judge or others. Another Canon provides that a judge's extrajudicial activities must be conducted in a such a manner so that they do not cast reasonable doubt on the judge's capacity to act impartially as judge, demean the judicial office of interfere with the proper performance of judicial duties.
At the symposium, Greer mocked the Schindler family and denigrated them for exercising their Constitutional right to seek redress of grievances in the court. According to Greer, if he'd had his way, he would deny litigants the appeal process, deny them their access to the courts unless they concur with his rulings. He clearly stated that he felt he should be autonomous and was obviously irritated because his rulings in the Schiavo case were not only challenged in the appellate courts and Supreme Court but also by the legislative and executive branches of government. Greer obviously doesn't feel that he should have any oversight, commenting that hopefully he wouldn't feel bad about reversals. He obviously doesn't advocate the balance of power or separation of powers---he wants all the power tilted to the "independent" judiciary.
Greer's cavalier, sarcastic and joking approach to the death of a handicapped woman.
(preserved on tape) is an affront to society and should have constituted immediate grounds for his removal from the bench and indeed, any office of public trust as he clearly lacks the proper sensitivity for any public position. He treated his killing of a disabled individual as a big joke and clearly demonstrated his total lack of impartiality in the Schiavo case as well as his disdain for the Schindler family and their representatives.
George Greer has perhaps done more to undermine the public's confidence in the judiciary in this country than another other judge with the exception of penis pump judge Donald Thompson in Creek County, Oklahoma.
Canon 5A of the Code of Judicial Conduct which addresses extrajudicial activities in general states, "a judge shall conduct all of the judge's extra-judicial activities so that the do not cast reasonable doubt on the judge's capacity to act impartially as a judge, demean the judicial office of interfere with the proper performance of judicial duties.
Irresponsible or improper conduct by judges such as Greer erodes public confidence in the judiciary. A judge must avoid all impropriety and appearance of impropriety. A judge must expect to be the subject of constant public scrutiny. A judge must therefore accept restrictions on the judge's conduct that might be viewed as burdensome by the ordinary citizen and should do so freely and willingly. Examples are the restrictions on judicial speech imposed by Sections 3B(9) and (10) that are indispensable to the maintenance of the integrity, impartiality, and independence of the judiciary.
Maintaining the prestige of judicial office is essential to a system of government in which the judiciary functions independently of the executive and legislative branches. Respect for the judicial office facilitates the orderly conduct of legitimate judicial functions. Judges should distinguish between proper and improper use of the prestige of office in all of their activities.
The judiciary across the country is whining that their judicial independence is being undermined. Judges like George Greer openly demonstrate that they feel they are above the law and that attitude is fueling the charge in this country against judicial tyranny, and rightfully so
CODE OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT FOR THE STATE OF FLORIDA
12-26-06
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© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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