Judge who dissented in Schiavo case works from city

Friends of federal Judge Charles R. Wilson say his opinion might have reflected his faith and compassion.

TAMPA - When federal appeals court Judge Charles R. Wilson dissented last week from two key decisions in the Terri Schiavo case, some expressed surprise.

Days after Congress moved the Schiavo case to federal court, Wilson wouldn't go along with his colleagues' refusal to order Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted or to grant her parents' request for an emergency rehearing.

"I was surprised there was a dissent because I think this is such a clear case," said Stetson University law professor Michael Allen, who read the decisions.

Although Allen characterized Wilson as a "thoughtful" judge who isn't "reactionary in either direction," the professor speculated that Wilson's dissent was "based more on the emotional appeal of the case."

Others, however, saw it coming.

"It doesn't surprise me if he errs on the side of life and caution," said St. Petersburg lawyer Darryl Rouson, who considers Wilson a friend.

Wilson, 50, spent eight years as a Hillsborough County judge and U.S. magistrate before becoming the top federal prosecutor in Florida's middle district in the mid 1990s. In 1999, President Bill Clinton nominated him to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

Though he travels the states that his circuit covers - Florida, Georgia and Alabama - Wilson works out of Tampa, where his family still lives.

A message left at their home went unreturned.

As the U.S. attorney for the district encompassing more than 100 prosecutors in the Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers areas, Wilson is credited with bringing stability to an office some felt was in turmoil. The office took on health care scammers, criminal motorcycle clubs, Seminole casino operators and methamphetamine suppliers.

He cracked down on public corruption with indictments against a former Tampa City Council member and city attorney as well as sheriffs. He prosecuted a Baptist preacher who illegally financed a lifestyle of luxury.

"He's well regarded and well liked in the legal community in Tampa," Tampa lawyer John Fitzgibbons said. "He's just a guy you respect."

While he was U.S. attorney, Wilson's office played a role in the case of the fatal police shooting of an 18-year-old St. Petersburg man that set off two nights of racial disturbances in 1996.

In 1997, the office and federal civil rights investigators said they had "failed to uncover evidence" to indict a police officer for violating the teen's civil rights. The decision ended any possibility of criminal charges against the officer.

Some say Wilson's serious, often scholarly, public persona conceals a college football fanatic with great wit and a sense of humor.

Steve Barbas befriended Wilson more than three decades ago at Jesuit High School around the time Wilson was working at a West Tampa drugstore sweeping the floor. Today, they attend the same Catholic church in Tampa. The Wilsons are the godparents of Barbas' youngest daughter.

Barbas said he felt Wilson would dissent from the Schiavo rulings, though he was unsure why he felt that way. Barbas and others mentioned Wilson's "strong" ties to his Catholic faith.

"Faith is very important to him, it truly is," Barbas said. Still, Barbas said he was unsure whether it played a role in Wilson's dissent.

"I don't know that necessarily played a part in his decisionmaking," said Barbas, a workers' compensation attorney in Tampa. "I don't know what went through his mind in making his decision."

Rouson said he was impressed when Wilson pointed out in his dissent that Congress passed the extraordinary law last week to give the Schiavo case a "fresh set of eyes" in federal court.

"Mercy and practicality compel us to grant the relief requested," Wilson wrote. "I fail to see any harm in reinstating the feeding tube. On the other hand, a denial of the request will result in the death of Theresa Schiavo."

"He would rather err on the side of granting a fresh set of eyes than to forever foreclose any possible merits if death occurs," Rouson said. "This to me sounds just like Charles Wilson, a man who is compassionate but honors the historical practicality of the law with spiritual underpinnings of mercy."