Everyone, it seems, has an opinion about Circuit Judge George Greer.

Greer, 63, is the judge who decided five years ago there was clear and convincing evidence Terri Schiavo would not want to be kept alive in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of improvement.

He also is the player who pitched the first no-hitter in Dunedin Little League history.

And a former housemate of legendary rock star and Doors frontman Jim Morrison.

And the only two-time winner of the John U. Bird Distinguished Jurist Award, the Clearwater Bar Association's highest honor.

On the bench, Greer is known as a patient listener who treats all sides fairly and respectfully while remaining firmly in command of his courtroom.

``It's that kind of stability that lawyers really like,'' said criminal defense lawyer Denis de Vlaming.

``You don't have to worry which side of the bed he got out of or whether your opponent took him out to lunch yesterday,'' de Vlaming said.

Greer also follows the law and does not deserve to be criticized by the very lawmakers who enacted Florida's ``Death With Dignity'' statutes, de Vlaming and others said.

``George is a very plain person. He's just pure vanilla. He doesn't show any emotion on this thing. It's the law. It's the way it is,'' said Chuck Rainey, former Pinellas County Commission chairman.

Rainey, a longtime friend, said he suggested to Greer in late 2003 that the judge recuse himself from the case. ``It started to get too political,'' Rainey said.

He recalled Greer saying: ``No. I'm the judge. It came to me, and I'm going to fulfill my responsibility.''

``I can think of 12 other judges [in the Pinellas-Pasco Circuit] who would already have recused themselves,'' Rainey said.

Mary Repper, a retired political consultant and longtime friend of Greer, said that during his campaign for re-election in November, the judge had been calm and easygoing.

A few weeks ago, Repper watched as armed guards escorted Greer to and from the courthouse.

``I can tell it's different now,'' she said. ``He's a little more strained, a little more tired. It seems to be getting to him a little bit more. It's concerned me.''

There's Criticism, Too

Not everyone in the political and legal community is a fan of Greer.

During last year's election, challenger Jan Govan said Greer had ``created a substantial crisis of confidence'' among the public.

``People don't believe particularly that the courts are working for them,'' Govan said.

Pat Anderson, who formerly represented Bob and Mary Schindler in their quest to keep their daughter alive, asked four times to have Greer remove himself from the case and once asked an appeals court to remove him for talking to the media about a letter Gov. Jeb Bush sent in an attempt to sway Greer's opinion.

Anderson said she cannot share her opinion of Greer.

``There is a rule of conduct that prohibits lawyers from making comments critical of judges on the theory that such criticism will reduce the public's confidence in the judiciary,'' Anderson said.

Greer has received thousands of e-mails, letters and telephone calls in recent weeks, many supportive and many laced with obscenities and unflattering assessments of his legal skills. The onslaught has been so fierce that special telephone lines and e-mail accounts have been set up so the judge's office can continue to function.

``Should you allow this woman to die, I hope someone ties your hands behind you [sic] back while an elected official slowly strangles your children to death!'' one e-mailer wrote.

Others are more polite: ``Please allow Terri's mother and father to take her home and care for her,'' a Georgia woman wrote.

Some are contrite: ``I just wanted to write and apologize for my previous e-mail. I have since read much about the case that I never previously knew. I did use Scripture in a very reprimanding tone and I'm sorry for misappropriating it.''

Many are supportive: ``I applaude [sic] you on your courage and conviction to do the right thing,'' wrote a California man who identified himself as a doctor, Catholic and registered Republican.

``Bravo to a judge that has guts! Keep your chin up,'' a Missouri woman wrote.

Greer was born Feb. 1, 1942, in Brooklyn, N.Y. A war baby, he initially called the unfamiliar man who came home to live with him and his mother ``Uncle Charlie'' because that is what his older cousins called the returning soldier, Greer fondly recalls.

The family moved to Dunedin when Greer was 4. When asked about his early years, Greer proudly mentions the time he pitched the first no- hitter in Dunedin Little League history, even though he was supposed to catch that day.

``Little George Greer, pitching his first game, pitched the first no-hit game of the year for the Jaycees,'' an article in the July 22, 1954, Dunedin Times states.

``George only gave up one run, which was off two walks and three errors in the second inning. ... Greer showed good control and form the rest of the game.''

Eyesight Is Longtime Problem

Critics often fault Greer for having poor eyesight and say he is unable to see video of Schiavo in which, they say, she interacts with her mother.

Greer said his eyesight is the same now as when he played in Little League. He was born with ``pale optic nerve endings'' that affect his sight but have not stopped him from doing things such as playing golf or coaching his now grown-up sons' Little League teams.

Those sons are twins from his first marriage. Greer has married again, and one of the duties performed by his wife is to drive him to and from work, as driving is one thing his eyesight prevents him from doing.

Greer majored in marketing as an undergraduate at Florida State University, where for one semester he and several other students from Pinellas County shared a rented house with a then-unknown poet from St. Petersburg named Jim Morrison.

Morrison, who became famous for both his talent and his bizarre behavior as the lead singer of the rock group The Doors, was a difficult person to live with, Greer recalled.

``I'm not sure how normal we were, but he was certainly less normal than we were,'' Greer said. ``He liked to play mind games.''

From Lawyer To Politician To Judge

Greer went on to study law at the University of Florida and began his career working for a Clearwater firm where he handled ``just about anything that walked in the door.''

He later opened his own law practice, specializing in zoning and land-use cases, and also served as the Largo town prosecutor in the late 1960s. He recalls prosecuting ``lots of shoplifting cases'' because at the time Largo was a shopping destination, having both a J.M. Fields and a Zayre department store.

In 1984, Greer was elected to the first of two terms on the Pinellas County Commission, where he served as chairman in 1987 and 1992. Among his achievements as a commissioner, he lists the construction of the Bayside Bridge and the purchase of thousands of acres of parkland now known as the Brooker Creek Preserve, John Chesnut Sr. Park and Wall Springs Park.

He also blocked state Department of Transportation plans to put up 6-foot cyclone fencing along both sides of the Courtney Campbell Parkway and worked with Commissioner Barbara Sheen Todd to have the state install a center railing on the causeway's median to cut down on head-on collisions and sudden U-turns.

Greer left his commission seat to run for a vacant circuit court judgeship in 1992.

The Clearwater Bar Association twice honored him with the John U. Bird Distinguished Jurist Award, in 2001 and in 2004, in part for his work on the Schiavo case. The St. Petersburg Bar Association gave him its Judicial Appreciation Award in 2004.

Greer's work on the Schiavo case has not been without personal impact, though.

This month, Greer resigned his longtime membership at Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater after receiving a letter from the Rev. William E. Rice that Greer said he does not wish to discuss.

Rice, who could not be reached for comment, told the Baptist Press in a March 18 article about Greer's resignation: ``We communicated about the nature of his commitment to the church and what he wanted that to be in the future.''

``That's great,'' de Vlaming said. ``They are not supposed to turn away a sinner, but they turn away someone with scruples.''