Terri Schiavo Judge George Greer to Speak at Jury Trial Conference

Life News ^ | 1/5/07 | Steven Ertelt

[wagglebee]

Dallas, TX (LifeNews.com) -- Judge George Greer continues to travel the lecture circuit despite his controversial ruling allowing Terri Schiavo's former husband to kill her via euthanasia. Greer is slated to speak at a national summit concerning jury trials, even though he unilaterally allowed the taking of Terri's life without a jury deliberation.

Greer will be one of the speakers at next month's National Jury Summit hosted by the American Board of Trial Advocates.

The conference is an opportunity for legal experts to discuss the threats to the jury system.

The presentations will deal with the civil jury system, factors causing its deterioration, the benefits of preserving the jury trial, and what changes are needed to bring about recovery.

ABTA lists Judge Greer as the first in the line of speakers at the conference.

According to a press release of the event LifeNews.com obtained, ABTA says Greer "will address judicial independence and the civil jury system. He will discuss how the Terri Schiavo case and other recent events impact and damage the civil jury system in America."

Despite Greer's condemning Terri to a painful 13-day starvation and dehydration death, Greer was also a featured speaker at Loyola Law School Los Angeles last June.

There, Greer instructed members of the mainstream media in how to report on significant legal stories like the battle over Terri's life.

According to a statement from the school provided to LifeNews.com, Greer served on the faculty of the inaugural "Journalist Law School" at Loyola. The journalist law school was a three day long intensive seminar for reporters who write on the government, the courts, and individual court cases.

Journalists from CNN, CBS News, ABC News Radio, Bloomberg WNBC, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Philadelphia Daily News and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution attended the conference.

Greer also previously came under fire for speaking engagements at a bioethics forum at the University of Pennsylvania and a local Bar Association event in Florida.

Terri's brother Bobby Schindler has said that his family saw Greer's "pro-euthanasia, pro-death bias" for years during the legal battle and indicated the bias "tempered his decisions in my sister's case and caused him to unethically, immorally and illegally ordered her to die."

"How can any citizens of Florida have confidence that Judge Greer will remain unbiased now that he is on the speaking circuit justifying the killing of an innocent, disabled woman without any proof of her consent?" Schindler asked.

Schindler said Greer's public speaking "makes a mockery of the entire judicial system" and "certainly shows his bias against the disabled."

ACTION: You can protest Greer's ABTA speaking engagement by emailing ABTA Executive Director Brian Tyson at briant@abota.org. You can also contact the group at: American Board of Trial Advocates, 2001 Bryan Street, Dallas, TX 75201, or call (800) 932-2682 or fax a letter to 214-871-6025.

Related web sites: Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation - http://www.terrisfight.org

[T'wit]

Tagline practice. You know who you are.

[T'wit]

> Your theory is just as good as Michael's T'wit

I think mine's a little better, actually :-) :-) At least, I'm not the one trying desperately to offer some innocent-sounding explanation of how my wife happened to end up on the floor nearly dead and making gurgling noises.

What's that old expression, a dog always returns to his vomit? Be afraid, Jodi.

[T'wit]

Thank you for finding and posting this. Let me quick reread it here... Mmm. OK. As for Terri's position, both Bobby Schindler and the emergency medics said she was face down. And I believe them. Her arms were said to be under her, with her forearms and hands reaching up toward her neck. Hmm, hadn't thought of this before: I don't think he strangled her per se, -- the characteristic marks were not there, -- but he might have used his hand to pin her neck down. There was an internal neck injury. Her hands may have been reaching up that way to try to pull his hand away from her neck. She wouldn't have had a chance.

Michael's own statement is notable mostly for being vague, slippery and just about impossible to believe. It does not ring true at all. He also lied to the police about everything being peachy between them -- they were in the middle of a roaring brawl! A girl friend, knowing about the fight, had offered Terri shelter for the night. Terri said, no, she would just pretend to be asleep (and no doubt was asleep at the late hour Michael got home). She barely knew what hit her.

Do you have Bobby Schindler's comments / thoughts about his experience when he arrived? Those would be useful. Also, there was a chart somewhere, something like this one that you posted, of Mikey's different "stories" afterwards. That would be worth another look too. (Perps always find it hard to keep all the details of a phony story straight, so they have interesting lapses of memory :-) )

[bjs1779]

From a CNN transcript:


GRACE: What happened?

BOBBY SCHINDLER: She usually would go out with us. It was a Saturday night. She said no, she was not going to go out with us that night, my friend and myself. She was going to go home and wait for Michael because they had been fighting all day. Then next thing I know, I got home, I went to bed, I got a phone call from my father saying something happened to Terri. We lived in the same apartment complex. I ran -- I got in my car, got there within a couple minutes. I went over to see Terri. She was lying face down with her hands up by her neck. I reached down and shook her shoulder. I wasn`t upset at that time because I had seen her just a few hours earlier and she was perfectly fine. The paramedics got there almost immediately after I got there, after I shook her shoulder, and that`s when they -- I saw how serious...

GRACE: She was still lying on the floor face down?

BOBBY SCHINDLER: Now, what is so troubling...

GRACE: Was he there?

BOBBY SCHINDLER: Yes, he was there. He answered the door. He was hysterical. Michael was hysterical.

What is so trouble is if you go back and look at Michael`s testimony of how he found Terri, it changes two or three times. And the only investigation that was conducted about the night of Terri`s collapse was done by Mark Fuhrman. And after Mark Fuhrman investigated that night in particular, he was very concerned and troubled with the way Michael was acting and the timeline of the events that occurred that night.

GRACE: Because he changed his story three times.

BOBBY SCHINDLER: Because -- and if you read it and see, he says he was cradling Terri when he found her. He said he found her face down. It changes every time he tells it.

GRACE: Suzanne, what was the fight about, the big fight?

VITADAMO: The big fight was about Terri had her hair done that day, and she spent -- had color and cut and she spent too much money.

ROBERT SCHIAVO: Timeline, though.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can see that Terri had taken a big change. I knelt down beside her. I cradled her in my arms, and I told her I love her. It`s still hard to this day, and I told her it`s OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We know that many of you never had the privilege to personally know our wonderful sister, Terri. But we assure that you that you can be proud of this remarkable woman who has captured the attention of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Welcome back, everyone. With me tonight, Terri Schiavo`s family with the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, her mother, father, sister, brother.

We were just taking a listen to her husband, Michael Schiavo. I tried to ask him some hard questions recently. He walked off the set, leaving his lawyer to hold the bag.

[T'wit]

Thank you. There simply must be mental lapses and clues in what he said -- especially since he gave several stories. I'm going to try to find what I did with my copy of Fuhrman's book. As I recall, it came out before the autopsy and didn't offer much fresh insight, but I was startled by Mark's deduction that Michael SAW Terri go down when all he ever says is that he heard a thud. (Of course he saw Terri go down if he was on her back!)

Do you know of any more testimony or commentary that we could retrieve about the night Terri was injured?

Is anyone here in touch with Bobby? I'd love to have his recollections.

[T'wit]

>> I knelt down beside her. I cradled her in my arms, and I told her I love her. It`s still hard to this day, and I told her it`s OK.

He tells her "it's OK" that he killed her?!?

[TChris]

What jury? What we had was one man condemn an innocent woman to one of the most inhumane deaths imaginable.

That's because it wasn't a criminal trial; it was a civil one. Civil trials have different standards of proof and of evidence. Judge Greer is not a bad judge just because this case didn't fit the legal system very well.

Clearly, some law should be enacted to move civil cases involving a life up to the same, higher standards as a criminal trial. But Greer couldn't try the case based on what he wished the law was. He had to try it within the laws he was given.

It's normal for people to want to demonize the judge when a case doesn't turn out favorably. But Judge Greer wasn't the bad guy; Terri's husband is a much more likely suspect.

[T'wit]

>> Arrived: 06:33 Completed: 08:55

Police investigation: 2 hours, 22 minutes. No forensic investigation at all. No follow-up. Michael lied to them about the fight, tried to plant the suicide idea. Police took Michael's answers at face value, missed or ignored or did not check on false statements. Original investigative report, gone. This is supposedly a true copy, but it doesn't much matter, they didn't investigate enough to fill a thimble.

[T'wit]

With other judges or cases I'd agree with much of what you say, and nobody has any real issue with the lack of a jury. What was needed here was an unbiased judge, not a jury. Greer's rulings were consistently against Terri. His fact findings were always against her. It became known as "Terri's law" -- wherever the law would tend toward Terri's death, Greer followed it to the penny; wherever the law favored her right to live, he ignored it or subverted it. Iow, his rulings were shamelessly prejudiced. He killed her and he meant to.

It was so flagrant, you'd almost have to deduce that Greer and Felos worked out the script together. Greer did everything Felos asked. He stripped Terri's trust fund to pay the lawyers -- to work against her with her own medical therapy fund! (Greer undid a real jury's work with that one.) He ignored guardianship regulations for Michael again and again and again. He refused to allow Terri a Guardian Ad Litem. He fired the only real GAL Terri had because the man tried to represent Terri's interests -- which, of course, is precisely what he is charged to do. (Greer himself took over as GAL, which is like the fox guarding the chicken.) He sealed medical and financial records that would have been embarrassing to Michael's case. His finding of "clear and convincing" evidence that Terri asked to be put to death would have been laughed out of a soap opera. It was transparently rigged. And that was his excuse to kill her.

Even if everything he did to this point was legal (hypothetical! it wasn't!), he ruled ultra vires that she was not to receive food or liquid by mouth. That is NOT allowed by law. It made him a murderer.

[T'wit]

“Everything secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity.” —Lord Acton

Judge George Greer, unseal Terri's medical and financial records.

[bjs1779]

I think you should read the whole transcript that I didn't include. As you will find out, poor Michael hurt his knee to rush down there to say that to her. I need some more baking soda.

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:9Igrle2gQpkJ:transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0603/28/ng.01.html+bobby+schindler+found+terri+floor&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=5

[bjs1779]

Civil trials have different standards of proof and of evidence. Judge Greer is not a bad judge just because this case didn't fit the legal system very well. Clearly, some law should be enacted to move civil cases involving a life up to the same, higher standards as a criminal trial.

Can you starve your dog in a civil trial?

[T'wit]

>> Can you starve your dog in a civil trial?

This must be a trick question! Starving your dog is a CRIME!! You can only starve your wife in a civil trial. Animals are loved, and cared for, and protected by law.

[bjs1779]

This must be a trick question! Starving your dog is a CRIME!!

I meant it to be an informative question.

[T'wit]

Well, well, well! What have we here?! Wendy Murphy -- whom we have met more recently as Haleigh Poutre's lawyer! -- was on this very program. I am an unabashed Wendy Murphy admirer. Her take here is fascinating, that Michael was a fraud on the court, and known to be a fraud on the court, back in 1993. That is, he wheedled a huge settlement out of the malpractice jury by promising to care for Terri the rest of his life. Then he went to a different court for permission to kill her and, not incidentally, keep the money for himself.

- - - - -

GRACE: Let me go to Wendy Murphy, former federal prosecutor, at this juncture, to look back and say, "You`re the reason she collapsed and died," but, Wendy, you know, a lot of people are waving this autopsy around saying, "See, nanny-boo-boo, she was brain dead all along."

You know, Wendy, I want to put on the record right now: Don`t pull my plug, all right? Put me in front of the TV, feed me chocolate, comb my hair, pay me attention. I don`t want hindsight. I want a chance to live, all right?

Because what if, Wendy, the autopsy had shown otherwise, then what are we supposed to do?

WENDY MURPHY, FORMER PROSECUTOR: You can`t fix this result now, can you? I mean, I think that is one of the most important arguments here is that this is not a mistake you can repair after the autopsy is done.

Nancy, you know, I`ll honor your wishes. I`ll feed you chocolate if that`s what you want. I may choose a different path. But the thing that bothers me the most about this case, aside from the vile statements this man is making about this family that loved their daughter so much...

GRACE: Horrific!

MURPHY: ... aside from his vile statements and the fact he was on "Larry KING" last night, and at the very end said something like, "I`ll never forget her."

He didn`t say, "I loved her dearly." At the very end, he said, "I`ll never forget her." Well, I won`t either. You know, that doesn`t tell us very much about his feelings, does it?

But here`s the thing: This guy was a fraud on the court, before anybody gave him the power to make the decision about this woman`s life. Forget the abuse. Forget the lies. Forget all that stuff for a minute.

The reason I`m offended by my legal system is that he is a fraud on the court and was known as a fraud on the court before anybody let him make the choice and have the power to tell anybody what she wanted.

And this is what I mean. After the dollars started flowing from the malpractice lawsuit, after the dollars started flowing, within weeks, this guy decides to go to a different courthouse and pull the plug. Now, why is that important? Because he had just told all the jurors in the medical malpractice case that he needed lots of zeros in that settlement amount, you know, in the jury award...

GRACE: To keep her alive.

MURPHY: ... to keep her alive forever and ever...

[T'wit]

>> I meant it to be an informative question.

It worked perfectly :-)

[T'wit]

And, unless Terri was not a member of the animal kingdom, Judge Greer broke the Pinellas County laws against CRUELTY to animals. You cannot deprive an animal of food, water or shelter in Pinellas Country, nor can you arbitrarily put an animal to death. Those things are regarded as cruel to dogs. Most of us who aren't patriarchal, honorary Muslim, male chauvinist pigs think that dehydration / starvation torture and death is cruel to women, too.

[bjs1779]

What might seem simple to us, might not so easy for others. Remember that saying 'you are what you eat'?. Well, some people have been eating what they have been fed.

[T'wit]

Do you remember a report showing Michael's several stories, side by side, about what happened when he got home that night? I remember that his timeline was different every time he told the story. In fact, I vaguely recall him saying at first, that he got home around 11:00. It must have been much later. I'm not sure his restaurant closed until 2:00. Something like that. The timeline has always been frustrating. There is no telling how long Terri lay on the floor untended.

[bjs1779]

There is no telling how long Terri lay on the floor untended.

She gave it her best T'wit. From there, it was 15 years in Hell.