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I hope that reproducing this artcile from The Empire Journal is acceptable, if not, let the Mods remove it:

Editorial

Judge In Schiavo Case Failed To Legally Qualify For

Office; Discharge Mandated

Is George Greer playing God?

Or is he playing judge?

Public records indicate he’s no judge.

It appears that there is solid legal ground to move to vacate not only George Greer’s latest decision of Oct. 22 but all decisions that he has made in the Terri Schiavo case.

Florida’s Sixth Circuit Court judge George Greer has refused to order a new trial in the case of Terri Schiavo, instead violating the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution and the separation of church and state.

And it appears he may be well aware of that constitutional violation as he has ordered that the feeding tube for the severely brain damaged woman remain in until at least Dec. 6 to allow attorneys for her parents to appeal his ruling.

Greer said in his decision that Terri Schiavo “has a right and she has had a right to have her constitutional rights implemented”.

But then Greer has also ruled that her feeding tube be removed which would cause her death.

She has also has a right to have a judge making life and death decisions that has the legal authority and jurisdiction to do so.

It appears that George Greer does not.

In order to qualify for office, judicial candidates must take and file an oath of office before being elected.

According to public records and state statutes, George Greer did not legally qualify for his current term of office and has no legal authority to sit on the case or issue any decisions.

Florida law is explicit that any person who fails to take the required oath shall be immediately discharged, his name removed from the state payroll and not permitted to receive any compensation.

Greer can’t claim that he is a “de facto” officer because he never had title to the office. His name shouldn’t have even been on the ballot according to the records provided by Florida’s Department of State.

Thus the question can be and should be legally raised if Greer has had jurisdiction in any of the adverse rulings affecting Terri Schiavo. Are all of his decisions null and void and should the entire matter be submitted for a new trial before a legally qualified judge?

According to rulings by the Attorney General’s office, statutory and case law, Greer has never qualified for office to gain access to the ballot, failing to file the mandatory oath of office, therefore he was not legally elected.

And even though election officials improperly allowed him access to the ballot, he still failed to comply with the statute which requires him to file his oath of office within 30 days of the commencement of his term.

According to the Department of State, the last oath on file for George Greer is dated Aug. 7, 1998. Although the Division of Elections says that Greer qualified for office on May 3, 2004, to date they have not been able to produce a copy of his oath of office that was presumably filed in order to qualify. VIEW THE ONLY OATH OBTAINABLE-CLICK HERE [must have Acrobat Reader]

The copy of the 1998 oath that they have produced for Greer is not in the proper form as required by statute which automatically disqualified him from the 1998 election. By law, his name should not have been on the ballot and therefore, he allegedly illegally served a six-year term as a judge and unlawfully collected compensation for the position.

Isn’t impersonating a judge a crime?

The oath signed by Greer on Aug. 7, 1998, and accepted by the Secretary of State’s office states “I do solemnly swear that I will support, protect and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States and State of Florida, and that I am duly qualified to hold office under the Constitution of the State and that I will well and faithfully perform the duties of Judge of the Circuit Court, Sixth Judicial District, Group 18”.

However, according to a 1996 opinion issued by Robert A. Butterworth, then Florida Attorney General, the form of the oath prescribed in Section 876.05 of Florida Statutes is mandatory and may not be altered unless the person required to take the oath is not a citizen.

That oath reads “I,…........a citizen of the State of Florida and of the United States of America, and being employed by or an officer of…………..and a recipient of public funds as such employee or officer, do hereby solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution of the State of Florida”.

The Attorney General ruled that the statute is applicable to all employees and elected officers of the state, including judicial officers.

“The oath is a prerequisite to qualify for public office”, the opinion states. “Any candidate who fails or requires to file the requisite oath will have failed to qualify as a candidate for public office and the name of such person shall not be printed on the ballot as a qualified candidate……..The provisions are mandatory and binding on all officers”.

George Greer did not comply with the law, failed to file the proper oath, did not qualify for office, was not a qualified candidate and does not and has not legally held the title of judge of the Sixth Circuit Court.

Florida law states that if any person required to take the mandated oath fails to execute same, the governing authority under which such person is employed shall cause that person to be immediately discharged and his name removed from the payroll.

Any governing authority, or person under whom any employee is serving or by whom employed who shall knowingly or carelessly permit any such employee to continue in employment after failing to comply with the provisions the law is guilty of a second degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail, removal from office and a fine of up to $500, Florida law says.

In the case of Greer, it appears that elections officials as well as the Secretary of State are responsible for carelessly accepting an improper oath of office and unlawfully allowing him access to the ballot. The persons responsible are subject to criminal penalties as provided by Florida statute and the Attorney General’s office has the duty to enforce the state law.

And even if Greer had filed the proper loyalty oath in order to qualify for office and gain access to the ballot, he didn’t properly take and file his oath of office after election.

In Florida, as in New York and other states, the law is very explicit. Chapter 114(h) states that “upon the failure of a person elected or appointed to office to qualify for office within 30 days from the commencement of the term of office , the office becomes vacant.

All judges in Florida have terms that begin on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January following the general election.

The Empire Journal has diligently searched for Greer’s oath of office which by law he had to file within 30 days after the commencement of his term in order to qualify. No oath, no office.

Although Freedom of Information Law requests were sent to the court, the state’s Department of Financial Services, the Secretary of State and the Division of Elections, not one of the offices could or would produce a copy of Greer’s oath filed within the 30-day window period of the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January, 1999, the beginning of his six year term.

By operation of law, even if he could claim he had qualified for office, Greer automatically vacated his office on the 31st day of his term, approximately February 4, 1999, and has had no legal jurisdiction to act as judge since that time.

Has he qualified for this year’s election?

In that Greer’s six year term expires the first Monday of January, 2005, Greer would have had to qualify to be on the ballot between noon on May 3 and noon, May 7.

So far, the Division of Elections, Secretary of State’s office has not produced any loyalty oath in the proper form allegedly filed by Greer on May 3, 2004.

According to the rules for the Sixth Circuit, oaths of office for the judges must be filed in either the Department of Financial Services or the court itself.

However, when The Empire Journal contacted the court office, the clerk didn’t know what an oath of office was and suggested the court’s public information officer be contacted.

The public information officer confirmed that Judge Greer’s oath of office was not on file at the court and suggested that the newspaper contact the Secretary of State’s office which had already been done. That office can produce only an oath dated Aug. 7, 1998.

Nor has the Department of Financial Services been able to produce a valid, timely oath of office for Greer. In the absence of a valid, current oath filed in either the court or the state comptroller’s office, Greer has not complied with the law and therefore has vacated the office---that is had he legally held it to begin with.

There is certainly just and legal cause for Schiavo’s parents to immediately move to vacate all decisions by Greer and to seek a new trial on jurisdictional grounds.

The issue of the oath is in black and white. The oath that Greer filed clearly is not in the form mandated by law. Therefore he did not qualify for office and should have been immediately discharged by the governing authority under which he was employed. In Greer’s case, that authority is the Florida Supreme Court. By law, he wasn’t entitled to receive any compensation thus it appears he should also be repaying Florida taxpayers the monies he’s unlawfully collected the past six years.

And then there’s the matter of what employee or employees allowed the improper oath to be filed and Greer to be placed on the ballot. Those individuals are subject to prosecution as provided by law.

Even people playing God and judge have to abide by the Constitution and the law.