As Terri Schiavo fades quickly in her Florida hospice, nagging questions remain about the objectivity of the judge who has sent her to her death.
In 1998, the Judge George Greer appointed a guardian ad litem ("guardian at law"), Richard Pearse Jr., to investigate Terri's case. Pearse's final report (PDF file) is one of the most important documents I've read in this case. There's a lot there to make the pro-Terri side cringe. Pearce's report is very sympathetic to Michael Schiavo, discussing Michael's early efforts to rehabilitate Terri ("played a very active and agressive role") and his formerly solid relationship with her family.
Which is what makes Pearse's conclusion so damning.
After rehearsing the facts of the case, the court-appointed , independent guardian ad litem ultimately concludes that Michael's credibility is "adversly affected" by his conflicting interests, and recommends against Michael's request to remove the feeding tube, saying it doesn't meet the "clear and convincing standard" set by legal precedent. Specifically he cites Michael's "obvious financial benefit" to be gained from Terri's death, and says that Michael's credibility is "adversely affected" by the chronology of his actions in the case.
This guardian ad litem was removed by Judge Greer in 1999 after Schiavo's assisted suicide lawyer George Felos complained he was "biased." Greer agreed, and replaced Pearse with....himself.
Greer is now not only the judge, but also in essence Terri's guardian ad litem...and Felos is one of his political contributors.
Nice to have at least gotten the "bias" out of the case, eh?
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