Judge in Life or Death Case Considered Conservative, Compassionate (Terri Schiavo Case)

AP | 10/25/03 | Vickie Chachere

[kattracks]

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (AP) - Pinellas Circuit Judge George Greer has been called a murderer and equated with the Roman governor who condemned Jesus to death. He has been vilified in Internet chat rooms and has received death threats by e-mail.

Greer is the judge who granted Terri Schiavo's husband permission to remove her feeding tube in one of the longest and most contentious right-to-life battles. His decision was second-guessed and essentially overridden by the Florida Legislature and Gov. Jeb Bush last week.

Following judicial code of conduct, Greer has been silent about the public debate over the Schiavo case and the criticism he has faced. He declined a request for an interview.

But those who know the 61-year-old probate judge say he is a prudent jurist who probably agonized over his decisions.

"He is such a good and decent man and to have this kind of rap being put on him right now is so unfair," said Mary Repper, a political strategist who has helped Greer's campaigns. "If ever this was to be put into the hands of someone who is going to be fair and do the right thing, George was the right person."

Through four years of hearings and legal wrangling, Greer considered Michael Schiavo's request to remove his severely brain-damaged wife's feeding tube against the wishes of her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler.

A heart attack in 1990 left Terri Schiavo, now 39, in a persistently vegetative state and court-appointed doctors believe there is no hope of recovery. Greer ruled Michael Schiavo showed "clear and convincing" evidence his wife did not want to be kept alive artificially and permitted him to end her nourishment.

The extraordinary reversal of his ruling by Bush and the Legislature will now become the central issue in a new legal fight over the separation of powers that will be waged to overturn what's now known as "Terri's Law."

While Greer has become a key figure in the international news event, few outside of Pinellas County know the man who friends describe as conservative, religious and particularly sensitive to protecting the disabled.

Greer is legally blind and cannot drive. While his condition doesn't hamper his abilities on the bench, colleagues and others said in interviews last week it gives him a perspective in dealing with the rights of the impaired few jurists have.

"He is so conscientious anyway, you put a case involving human life in front of him and it makes him even more careful," said Ed Armstrong, a Clearwater attorney who describes Greer as his mentor. "It's been an ordeal for him too."

Greer is a member of a conservative Baptist church which recently advocated keeping Terri Schiavo alive in a church newsletter. A moderate Republican, Greer served on the Pinellas County Commission for eight years before running unopposed for a circuit judgeship in 1992.

Repper and former Pinellas County Commissioner Charles Rainey said the fact that no one opposed the quiet, studious Greer speaks volumes for how well he is regarded in Pinellas County.

"He's doing what the law says to do. I am sure he struggles with himself, knowing George," Rainey said. "The man did everything he was asked to do as far as checking out the case, checking out the medical situation and he did it two or three times."

Greer is known for answering his own telephone in chambers and until recently being easily accessible to the press, characteristics that his friends say are holdovers from his days of being an elected official.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Greer graduated from Clearwater High School. He graduated from the University of Florida law school and was a successful zoning attorney in Clearwater when he was elected to the county commission in 1984. He been a judge since 1992 and is up for re-election next year.

Michael Schiavo first asked the probate court for permission to disconnect his wife's feeding tube in 1998, saying his wife had told him that she never wanted to be kept alive artificially. Her parents disagree. Two other judges handled the case before it was passed to Greer.

Greer turned down repeated requests from the Schindlers to order therapy for their daughter or to dismiss Michael Schiavo as her guardian. Just this week, Greer set a hearing in November, nearly a year after the Schindlers' last motion for a new guardian, to discuss that issue.

The Schindlers' attorneys attempted to have Greer removed from the case in recent weeks, saying he had improperly discussed the case with others. An appeals court decided Greer would stay.

The Schiavo case is not the only time Greer has been faced with the issue of removing a feeding tube from a vegetative patient. In 2000, the wife and grown children of St. Petersburg attorney Blair Clark faced off in Greer's courtroom after Clark collapsed from a heart attack.

Clark had a living will which said he did not want a feeding tube or respirator if he was determined to be in a permanent vegetative state. But his Chinese-born wife - who disputed her husband was vegetative and believed he could hear her - wanted to try acupuncture and medical techniques from her homeland.

Greer allowed an acupuncturist to administer a treatment session, and then granted Clark's children permission to withdraw their father's feeding tube. Clark's wife did not appeal the decision.

Clark died within days of the tube's removal.

"He was sympathetic and empathetic to the fact that we had somebody who in her culture believed in these alternative methods," said Doug Williamson, who represented the Clark children.

William Mayhew, who represented Clark's wife Ping, said he too believes Greer simply followed the law.

"Many judges would have figured out a way to dump (the Schiavo) case," said Pinellas County Sheriff Everett Rice, Greer's friend for more than 20 years. "But he stuck by it. He deserves a medal for enduring that alone."

[Route66]

'This has been going on for 13 years. Why not allow therapy for 6 months out of those thirteen years?'
.........................

There is not one good reason unless you simply do not want to give someone the chance to improve. The token therapy session granted by Judge Greer in the other case which was presented in this article in an attempt to show his compassion to the man's wife was really the same as allowing no therapy at all.

And notice here that the wishes of the spouse in this case were trumped by the rest of the family even though we have been treated to a barrage of comments in the Shiavo case about the rights of husbands and wives to make these decisions for one another.

Decisions like these are being made by judges all over the country. The truth is, this is about euthanasia and true believers and the daily judicial decisions that further the 'cause' of making it accepted in mainstream America....and it does appear to be working.

Forty years ago, you would have been hard pressed to find anyone who would think that providing water and food to the infirmed was extraordinary care. From recent polls, the concept of starving and dehydrating people to death has now been accepted by a good many of us as a 'compassionate' way to 'allow' death. The buzzwords abound, but if this horror constitutes 'death with dignity', you could sure fool me.

[kattracks]

... but presumably he can read legal papers...

This isn't necessarily so. He may have clerks who can do research and perhaps transcribe materials into audio tapes.

[kaylar]

I seem to recall reading here that MS and Felos were trying to get the video pulled from the internet because it was taken against MS's orders. Also, that they at least tried to keep the videos off the TV stations . If they did that, then I suppose they'd at least try to keep the tapes out of the court room, and it would be at Greer's discretion whether they'd be shown. Since Greer is bending over backwards for MS, I tthink I can guess what he's say if the Schindlers and their lawyer tried to get the videos shown. This case is horrible!

[kaylar]

I'm not sure. I thought I read that Felos was even trying to get the ISPs hosting terrisfight to pull the videos , because they're "illegal" as MS didn't give permission for them to be taken????

[kattracks]

BTW,Judge Greer allowed the one therapy session even though there was a living will in that case. He made an exceprion, which he doesn't seem to want to do in this case.

[T'wit]

>> "He is such a good and decent man...

The woman who said this has a glowing career ahead in stand-up comedy.

The liberals like to gloat that Michael Schiavo has "consistently" prevailed in court. That is Judge Greer at work. He has been consistently inhumane and cruel toward to a helpless, invalid woman who cannot fight back. Terri depends on this judge to protect her rights but he denies her medical care and orders her death.

So like the liberals to try to rehab this bastard's reputation. But his own works condemn him forever.

[livius]

They didn't mention the bit about Greer's wife being on the board of Felos' hospice, I note.

Besides, this article is like all those stupid feminist articles written about women "agonizing" over their abortions, but heroically going ahead and killing their baby after a few minutes of " agonizing." It's for the good of the baby, after all...the best thing she could do, right?

And this article about Greer is exactly the same kind of phoney baloney. Like the woman having the abortion, he had determined long ago what he was going to do about this and any such cases, and the "agonizing" enables him to salve his conscience and enchant the press.

[kaylar]

I have a question for any FR lawyers and/or life insurance company staff or management.

If it is true that MS has a life insurance policy on Terri that he will collect when she dies (something MS has refused to confirm or deny) has anything come to light in the media re:MS's abuse of Terri, as well as medical neglect, that could enable the life insurance company to refuse to pay up? I believe (eg)homeowner's insurance can refuse to pay up if there's suspicion of arson; is there a similar situation with life insurance?

[Kit]

The bottom line on Judge Greer is that his blindness doesn't matter one bit, and neither does the fact that he is widely considered to be a conservative, religious and conscientious good guy.

The bottom line on Greer is that he has refused to treat MS's conflict of interest and marital abandonment as any indication of an ulterior motive.

The fact that there IS NO WRITTEN STATEMENT from Terri herself makes all the questionable motive aspects of this case so absolutely compelling.

If there's something Greer knows that he ain't telling that makes him still think Terri ought to die, he sure ought to share it with her family. Otherwise, when in doubt, DON"T.

[litany_of_lies]

I would think that the life insurance company would AT A MINIMUM refuse to pay unless the body is NOT cremated and a full-blown autopsy performed.

They know ahead of time that they are facing a $400K-$800K claim, as I understand it. They should be working on this case before she dies, not after.

[ambrose]

thanks.

[ambrose]

ping

[Snykerz]

Greer turned down repeated requests from the Schindlers to order therapy for their daughter or to dismiss
Michael Schiavo as her guardian. Just this week, Greer set a hearing in November, nearly a year after the
Schindlers' last motion for a new guardian, to discuss that issue.

---

[madprof98]

Nope, the Ministers of Propaganda in the Culture of Death mainstream media never paint proponents of their Culture of Death in a bad light, no matter how radical they are in trying to murder the innocent and defenseless.

Isn't Nancy Pelosi a "conservative Catholic"?

[Smocker]

I read he gave Felos free reign to speak in court without interruptions, and that the attorney, Ferrara for the Schindlers was interrupted constantly and practically not allowed to speak.

From what I have read, it seems to me that Greer is not impartial, or agonizing about squat. It seems he had his opinion formed, and was not willing to change his mind.


I think any judge in the nation that is willing to starve a brain damaged woman to death has a serious lack of respect for human life.

[tuckrdout]

I don't understand what a "probate" judge is doing handling the case?! Shouldn't it be a family services judge, or someone like that?

[Cicero]

First this article calls him a "conservative" and then it calls him a "moderate Republican." Well, I think we know what "moderate" means when used by a member of the media--it means a liberal, pro-abortion, pro-death Republican.

As for his being a Baptist, that's all very well, but so is bill clinton. And Teddy Kennedy is a Catholic. Such labels mean little or nothing without knowing what kind of Baptist he is.

As for these two cases, in the first instance the man made out a clear living will. Maybe they should have given acupuncture a few months to show its effects. I personally don't think anyone should be allowed to use a hospital to kill himself, but I can understand that the law would see it differently.

With Terri Schiavo there is no living will and basically no evidence but the husband's unsupported word that she wanted to be starved to death. This husband has considerably weakened his credibility by his actions--including not using the money he was awarded for his wife's attempted rehabilitation, its stated purpose.

Since death is irreversible, a prudent judge would never have acted as Greer did. He was obviously biased by his political views.

[MainFrame65]

Perhaps I am either misremembering or misinterpreting, but I seem to recall statements about this judge's demeanor in the courtroom with respect to the Schindlers, their lawyers, and their witnesses, that indicated a complete unwillingness to consider what they had to say.

The only "expert" testimony afforded a fair hearing was from experts chosen by the husband - and that is NOT a fair hearing.

Also, from what I have read here, all of Terri's indications of consciousness and responsiveness have been by way of physical reaction. If the judge is incapable of seeing such responses, HE IS INCAPABLE OF RENDERING JUDGEMENT, AND OUGHT TO RECUSE HIMSELF FROM THIS CASE. His failure to do so manifests gross judicial misconduct, and ought to be grounds for impeachment and REMOVAL.

There has been some discussion about the nature and extent of his visual impairment - specifically, can he read court documents? Reading is not enough. Computer technology today can easily magnify and enhance images to the point of displaying a single letter at a time on a giant screen, with contrast enhanced to any desired degree. Also, many text to voice systems (read aloud) are available, such as Dragon or IBM offer. But no amount of magnification or enhancement could show her following an object with her eyes.

He has failed to consider any position but the husband's, and ignored every indication of a conflict of interest on his part. Other, higher courts have NEVER been allowed to question his findings of "fact" (that are not fact), only Greer's legal determinations. A law that allows ONE MAN this kind of power over the very life or death of another ought to scare every one of us.

Terri Schindler ought to receive a course of therapy sufficiently long and intense to establish positively what her actual state of being is, whether she is capable of benefiting from further treatment, and whether she is, or can become, capable of making decisions about her further treatment. Making decisions about the "quality of life" of another human being is one of the foulest acts concievable. And Florida needs to make some permanent changes to its laws covering similar situations. It is one thing if all interested parties agree, but another where there is such stark disagreement, and no actual evidence of the wishes of the subject.

People can disagree, even with all the facts, but this judge has avoided or ignored too many facts to be considered fit to sit in judgement about what to have for dinner, much less whether another human being lives or dies.

[mvpel]

In the other case, there was clear and convincing evidence of the vegetative patient's wishes, unlike in the Schiavo case.

[Bonaparte]

In 2000, Gore only won Pinellas county by 50-46. Greer may not be bullet-proof.