Replies

House Speaker Allan G. Bense
420 The Capitol
402 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300

Dear House Speaker Bense:
I would appreciate your response to a serious matter. It has come to light that 6th Circuit Judge George W. Greer and Judge Douglas Baird did not legally qualify for the election as prescribed by Florida law. According to documents obtained by The Empire Journal neither judge filed their oath as prescribed by law.

The following information in italics is excerpted from http://theempirejournal.com/documents_of_schiavo_judges_give.htm

Greer was presumably elected in 1998 and sought reelection this year. Baird was elected to a six year term in 2000.
In addition to paying the requisite fees, judicial candidates must file a candidate’s oath, a loyalty oath, the completed form for the appointment of campaign treasurer and designation of campaign depository, and a financial disclosure statement.
Statutes also require that each judicial candidate, including an incumbent judge, file a statement within 10 days after filing the appointment of campaign treasurer and campaign depository, stating that he or she has read and understands the requirements of the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct. Neither Greer nor Baird has ever filed such a statement, according to the Office of General Counsel for the Department of State.
A review of the oaths signed by Greer in 1998 and 2004 as well as Baird in 2000 reveal that the documents are allegedly not in the proper form and were not filed within the requisite time period meaning that neither Greer nor Baird qualified for office. However, both have signed statements under penalty of perjury that they did qualify for office. (See http://www.theempirejournal.com/judges_in_schiavo_case_maynot_have_qualified_for_Office.htm )
Over the past several months, The Empire Journal has submitted several Freedom of Information Law requests for documents concerning the alleged qualification of Greer and Baird. However, the Department of State had not provided copies of the appointments of campaign treasurers.
D.H. Penton, assistant general counsel for Florida’s Department of State, has now produced Greer’s filing for 1998---which was filed Oct. 23, 1997, well outside the window period for qualifying. Greer’s 2004 appointment of campaign treasurer was filed on Jan. 8, 2004.
However, both of Greer’s filings are outside the window period for filing, lending further proof that he did not qualify for office and could not appear on the ballot.
Baird’s filing was not done until July 5, 2000, also well outside the qualifying period.
Even judges have to comply with the law.
The Empire Journal had asked the Office of General Counsel to take action against Greer and Baird based on the alleged improper documents and failure to qualify for election but in a response to the newspaper on Dec. 10, Penton said that “as to your questions regarding Judges Greer and Baird’s qualifications, the Department is unaware of any deficiencies in their filings” The attorney said that if the newspaper had “concerns about the judges, it would be to your advantage to consult an attorney for guidance on how to proceed”.

Judge Greer has violated FS 38.10 four times by not disqualifying himself from the Schiavo case when it was requested. The statute states whenever a party to any action or proceeding makes and files an affidavit stating fear that he or she will not receive a fair trial in the court where the suit is pending on account of the prejudice of the judge of that court against the applicant or in favor of the adverse party, the judge shall proceed no further, but another judge shall be designated in the manner prescribed by the laws of this state for the substitution of judges for the trial of causes in which the presiding judge is disqualified.

Confidence in the judicial system is quickly eroding in Florida as a result of the actions of Greer, Baird, and the Florida Supreme Court. The legislature’s function is to pass laws. The courts are to interpret the laws and judges are overstepping their boundaries. If the law to keep Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube intact is unconstitutional, then why isn’t the law that included a feeding tube in the “life-prolonging” procedures unconstitutional as well.

The courts are unchecked. As you can see in the above excerpt from The Empire Journal the attorney with the Dept of State who provided the requested documentation suggested getting an attorney to pursue the matter further. This is outrageous! The Dept of State can see in black and white that paperwork is not in order and will do nothing about it. This can’t be. The Judicial Qualifications Commission is akin to a fox guarding the henhouse and the public doesn’t have confidence in them to do anything about this situation.

The citizens of Florida are counting on you, the legislators, to do what must be done. I’m requesting that Judge Greer and Judge Baird be impeached without delay. Judge Greer didn’t legally qualify for office and should never have sat on the bench one minute. Greer has violated Florida Statutes by not removing himself from the Schiavo case when requested, has not required the guardian to abide by requirements in the statutes. Judge Baird stated publicly that Terri’s law was unconstitutional before hearing the case, his mind was made up already. Bias must not be allowed, neither can disregard for the requirements for the very important position of a judge. If the judges are not paying attention to the detail of their own filing requirements and expectations under the statutes how can they be expected to follow the more serious issues of law? I think we are at a crucial point in Florida as far as the judicial system is concerned. It is up to you to do something about it.

With respect,