George W. Greer (born 1942) is a retired Florida circuit judge who served in Florida's Sixth Circuit Court (

Pinellas Pinellas is the name of a peninsula located roughly halfway down the west coast of Florida. It forms the western boundary of Tampa Bay and comprises the bulk of Pinellas County. There is a city named Pinellas Park in south Pinellas. The peninsul ...

- Pasco counties),

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

division, in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and north of St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies T ...

. He received national attention in 2005 when he presided over the

Terri Schiavo case The Terri Schiavo case was a series of court and legislative actions in the United States from 1998 to 2005, regarding the care of Theresa Marie Schiavo (née Schindler) (; December 3, 1963 – March 31, 2005), a woman in an irreversible ...

Early life and education

Born in 1942 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, Greer grew up in

Dunedin, Florida Dunedin ( ) is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The name comes from ''Dùn Èideann'', the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Dunedin is part of the Tampa Bay Area, Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater ...

. He received his

Associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

from St. Petersburg Junior College in 1962, his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

in 1964, and his

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

College of Law A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school ...

in Gainesville in 1966.

Career

Greer is a Republican who was once a member of a Southern Baptist Church. Greer served as a

county commission A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States. A county usually has three to fiv ...

er for

Pinellas County Pinellas County (, ) is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 959,107, making it the seventh-most populous county in the state. It is also the most d ...

as a Republican from 1984 to 1992. He was first elected to the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court in 1992 on a

nonpartisan Nonpartisan or non-partisan may refer to: __NOTOC__ General political concepts * Nonpartisanship, also known as Nonpartisanism, co-operation without reference to political parties * Non-partisan democracy, an election with no official recognition ...

ballot, and was reelected in 1998 and again in 2004. He retired in 2010 when his term expired.

Terri Schiavo case

Greer received substantial attention in national and international

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

for his involvement in the

. Because Greer's controversial decisions in the Schiavo case conflicted with the opinions of patrons at his church, the Calvary Baptist Church of Clearwater, Greer was asked by pastor William Rice to clarify his relationship with his church. Greer then withdrew his membership from the Calvary congregation. In 2005 Greer was threatened with

impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

for his decisions in the

. Attorney Barry Cohen represented Greer, who retained his position.

Hogan divorce case

Greer presided over the 2008 divorce case of

Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...

and his wife, Linda Bollea. On January 30, 2008, Greer denied Bollea's motion to have Hogan's assets frozen.Gray, Ryan (01-30-200
"Hogan Divorce Update, ECW Rating, Torrie, More"
''NoDQ.com'' Retrieved 2009-06-05

References

External links

''St. Petersburg Times'' articleUniversity of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics 10th Anniversary Symposium
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greer, George American politicians with disabilities American blind people Blind politicians Florida state court judges 1942 births Living people Terri Schiavo case People from Dunedin, Florida Florida Republicans Florida lawyers Florida State University alumni Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni Blind lawyers American lawyers with disabilities