'Champion' State Attorney Norm Wolfinger dies

Former State Attorney Norm Wolfinger, who for three decades oversaw prosecution of some of Brevard County's most notorious criminal cases, died late Tuesday after battling an aggressive form of cancer for nearly a year. He was 70.

"He was a tremendous man," said Senior Brevard County Circuit Judge John Dean Moxley, a longtime friend and colleague. "He reached out to everybody. He was a good administrator and he took care of his people. He was also at the forefront of victim's awareness. He did that before it became fashionable."

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey called Wolfinger "a champion" of the criminal justice community. Wolfinger advocated  tough changes in Florida's child sexual predator laws and partnered with federal prosecutors to tackle gun crime. Flags at Brevard County facilities were ordered to fly at half-staff until the funeral. Arrangements have not yet been released.

"It's a sad morning. He was a great guy and an incredible prosecutor," Ivey said. "His legacy will go on forever."

Wolfinger, Ivey noted, inspired loyalty among those who worked for him. “You never met him when he wasn’t smiling,” Ivey recalled.

Legacy

Wolfinger served seven terms as state attorney for the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court, covering a population of nearly 1 million people across Brevard and Seminole County and was responsible for about 55,000 prosecutions annually by the time he decided not to run for reelection in 2012.

His story is one of a young man who overcame difficulties to pursue a career as an attorney, becoming a seasoned prosecutor who also championed victim’s rights. Through it all, Wolfinger kept his humor, once dressing as a cheeseburger for Halloween and another time playfully revving his car as a reporter walked by.

All the while, he kept a clear sense of duty as a prosecutor working to bring balance to the justice system.

In 2012, when Wolfinger found himself in the national spotlight with his office’s handling of the controversial shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in nearby Sanford. Thousands of angry protesters converged on the small Seminole county town, along national pastors like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson , to challenge the state’s handling of the case involving shooter George Zimmerman. Zimmerman claimed that he was acting in self-defense after confronting the teen.

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“First, tough decisions are rarely made in times of calm waters,” Wolfinger told FLORIDA TODAY afterward. “People’s opinions will be running every which way. That is why I do not allow myself to lose my wits about me, particularly when others appear to be losing their balance.”

Wolfinger later recused himself from the case as protests grew. He added: “I have had the opportunity to work on many tough cases, always giving thoughtful and thorough consideration to all the facts and circumstances, ideas and possibilities, including those offered by case critics, before reaching what I believe is a just and fair decision.”

That passion for finding justice also came with a hefty dose of empathy, observers said. "He had a belief in people. He saw how crime victims got lost in the system and he became an advocate," said Beth Rossman, who worked closely with Wolfinger as the director of Victim's Witness Services and Community Alliance Program. Rossman last heard from Wolfinger in November when he texted her saying, "you get out and travel and travel for me."

Junny Rios Martinez and his wife Vicki also recalled how Wolfinger’s help them cope in the aftermath of the 1991 murder of their 11-year-old son Junny Jr. at the hands of a convicted sex offender. “He was always honest with us, always there. He was also a man of his word. And I can tell you, without him, we would not have made it,” said Junny Rios Martinez, who credited Wolfinger with helping spur on the advocacy needed to change the state’s sexual offender laws. Wolfinger called it ‘Junny’s Law.’

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“I personally saw the suffering, the distress he had from the case,” said Vicki Martinez, mother of the slain elementary school student. “(Wolfinger) grieved right along with us. He championed out cause. He was with us hand in hand, the whole way,” she said.

Wolfinger’s journey began after he was drafted in the Army in May 1968 and was sent to Vietnam. On May 13, 1969, the 23-year-old was injured when shrapnel from a nighttime rocket and mortar attack tore into his right leg, hip and back at Quan Loi Base Camp near Tai Ninh. He was taken away by helicopter, and he woke up in a Saigon hospital. He got shipped home a month later, but he suffered permanent sciatic nerve damage, leaving him with an occasional limp.

After he was medically discharged, he returned stateside and met his future wife, Janie, at a wedding on Oct. 18, 1969, in his hometown of Wilson Borough, Pennsylvania.

They married six months later, and the couple moved south so Wolfinger could attend law school at the University of Florida. He graduated in 1973 and moved to Brevard County, where he worked as an assistant state attorney for eight years and chief assistant public defender for three years. He also tried his hand at private practice but eventually went back to working as a prosecutor.

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'Tough lawyer'

From there, Wolfinger earned a reputation as a tough lawyer dedicated to representing the victims of crime. He became state attorney in 1985 and within two years was faced with guiding the prosecution of William Cruse, the 60-year-old librarian who went on a shooting spree in Palm Bay, killing two police officers and four others in a standoff that made international news.

“He was passionate about keeping the community safe. There wasn’t much he hadn’t seen,” said Brevard State Attorney Phil Archer, elected in 2012. “The best advice he gave was to just ‘do the right thing.’ Sure, you’ll get yelled at, you’ll get criticized. You have to make some decisions that are unpopular but he would tell me that if you do what you know is right, you’ll sleep well."

His time in office was not without controversy. Some critics called the state attorney’s office heavy-handed but Wolfinger faced the criticism head-on.

One case that garnered scrutiny – among a handful of prosecutions – was the case involving William Dillon. Dillon spent 27 years in a state prison for a 1981 murder until a DNA test, which was not available at the time of conviction, exonerated him.  Wolfinger’s office fought calls for such testing in a protracted legal battle that drew stinging criticism from advocacy groups like the Innocence Project.

A Republican, Wolfinger was elected state attorney in 1984 when he defeated ​Douglas Cheshire at the polls. He was re-elected without opposition in 1988, won re-election in 1992 after taking 70 percent of the Republican primary vote, and was re-elected without opposition until retirement. He served seven full terms.

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Wolfinger, following the deadly trend of gun violence, created Operation Cease-Fire, a prevention program that for a moment, put him in the unusual position of being a Hip Hop producer, funding the recording of local artists for a Rap Against Violence music CD that was distributed to area schools. U. S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales honored Wolfinger and the program during a 2006 conference in Denver.

“He made substantial inroads in the promotion of victim’s rights and served as a fierce advocate for  all those affected by crime. His presence in our halls of justice and in our community will be sorely missed,” said Brevard-Seminole Chief Judge John D. Galluzzo in a statement to FLORIDA TODAY. In 2007, Disabled American Veterans presented Wolfinger the National Commander's Award as the Outstanding Disabled American Veteran of the Year during the organization's national convention in New Orleans. The award, more than others, impacted Wolfinger who still bore the physical and emotional scars caused by  shrapnel in Vietnam, colleagues would later say.

He also spent 13 years chairing the Brevard Schools Foundation's Take Stock in Children Leadership Council, which offers mentoring and college scholarships for at-risk middle and high school students. He was also a founding member of the Children's Advocacy Center of Brevard, which helps investigate child abuse and supports young victims.

“His legacy lives on,” Ivey said.

He is survived by his wife Janie, two children Amy and Rob along with two grandchildren.