Norm Wolfinger


Norman Robert "Norm" Wolfinger was the State Attorney for the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida in Florida until January 8, 2013. The judicial circuit covered about 1 million people at the time that Wolfinger held office. He is succeeded by Phil Archer.

Early life and education

Wolfinger was drafted into the United States Army in 1968 and served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He was wounded and received the Purple Heart. In 1973, Wolfinger graduated from the University of Florida College of Law.
He was given the National Commanders Award for Disabled American Veteran of the Year in 2007.

Law career

Wolfinger gained national prominence after the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin when he acted as a Special Prosecutor for the case.
Until the Martin case, Wolfinger was probably best known for his successful prosecution of mass murderer, William Cruse, and child murderer Mark Dean Schwab. He died of cancer on January 5, 2016.

Controversy

Wolfinger was criticized for making the decision that there was insufficient evidence for a conviction of George Zimmerman on the charge of manslaughter. Wolfinger has expressed surprise at the national spotlight and the reaction to his decision. Zimmerman was found not guilty after being tried by another prosecutor in a state court.
He was also State Attorney when Catherine and Curtis Jones, ages 13 and 12, were tried as adults and sent to prison in 1999 for murdering their father's girlfriend. They both told the investigators that they were jealous of the time their father spent with his girlfriend and not with them. Their release in 2015 has garnered a lot of critical press attention to their case, particularly since the Joneses have since claimed that the murder was the result of their having been physically and sexually abused at home by a male friend of their father. Child welfare officers were finding evidence of before the murder occurred. Wolfinger told reporters in 1999 that their being tried as adults was appropriate, a position that in 2015 is drawing scrutiny.