The Reality of Blind Justice

I had read it before... I knew I had. I was too worried I guess wondering why a Florida judge had turned a blind eye in determining the facts in the long battle regarding Terri Schiavo. I wondered... how could the judge not see for himself, why did he ignore the evidence clearly demonstrated on the videos that Terri reacted to her surroundings. Why didn't he go see for himself.... go to her hospice room and decide based on his own observations. Had he poured over the scans and the reports of doctors from years past that included instances of pain reception and her speaking words, documented by even her husband. Why did he not examine the bone scans that clearly showed evidence of abuse?


Why not? Why not give the poor woman the benefit of the doubt? The answer is simple... Judge Greer couldn't.

Judge Greer is blind.

Unless all the testimony in the case was transcribed into Braille for him..... which I have no idea of knowing... there is no way of him reading the actual statements of the witnesses.....there is no way to transcribe a video for viewing by the blind..... there is no way to transcribe bone scans, CT scans, or any other radiology results.... and more to the point no way for him to personally observe Terri Schiavo.

I am an advocate for people with disabilities. I believe that no one should be denied the right to be the best that they can be..... in whatever profession they choose. That said, realistically I have to clarify myself here. My beliefs do not extend to the absurd. It is absurd to give a blind person a driver's license. It is absurd to give a hearing impaired person a position of answering 911 calls. It would be absurd to give a mute person a job as a police dispatcher. It would be absurd for anyone with a disability that precludes them from performing a task effectively be given the duty and obligation of protecting public safety or common good. Nor should judges who are legally blind be able to judge cases in which they alone are responsible for a verdict regarding evidence they can not evaluate.

There is no way that Judge Greer could have made a full and clear determination of the facts. I do not understand how by virtue of his disability he is allowed to be a judge on cases where the perception of vision is as paramount as the perception of his ethics and his interpretation of the law.