Charles R. Wilson (born October 14, 1954) is a United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts: * Middle District of Alabama * Northern District of Alabama * ...

Education

Wilson was born in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal c ...

in 1954. He is a graduate of Jesuit High School of Tampa. He received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main c ...

in 1976 and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from

Notre Dame Law School Notre Dame Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Notre Dame. Established in 1869, it is the oldest continuously operating Catholic law school in the United States. ND Law is ranked 22nd among the nation's "Top 1 ...

in 1979.

Career

Following graduation from law school, he served as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for Judge

Joseph W. Hatchett Joseph Woodrow Hatchett (September 17, 1932 – April 30, 2021) was an American lawyer and judge. He worked in private practice, was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Eleventh Circuit, a ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * ...

from 1979 to 1980. From 1980 to 1981, he served as an Assistant County Attorney in Hillsborough County, Florida. Following a five-year stint in private practice based in

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

, he was appointed as a county state judge in Hillsborough County in 1986, serving in that capacity until 1990. From 1994 to 1999, he served as the

United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida The United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida is the United States Attorney responsible for representing the federal government in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The U.S. Attorney for the Middle ...

Federal judicial service

United States magistrate judge service

In 1990 he was appointed as a

United States magistrate judge In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduc ...

of the

United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida (in case citations, M.D. Fla.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are app ...

, serving until 1994.

Court of appeals service

President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

nominated Wilson to the

on May 27, 1999, to replace the vacancy created when

, his former boss who had since been transferred from the 5th Circuit to the 11th Circuit, retired. Wilson's nomination was relatively uncontroversial, earning bipartisan support from both of his state's senators,

Bob Graham Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham (born November 9, 1936) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States senator from Florida from 1987 to 2005. He is a member of the De ...

and

Connie Mack III Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III (born October 29, 1940), also known as Connie Mack III, is an American retired Republican politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida from 1983 to 1989 and t ...

. Wilson was confirmed by the Senate by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

on July 30, 1999. He received his judicial commission on August 9, 1999.

References

Sources

*
11th Circuit Court of Appeals Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Charles R. 1954 births Living people African-American judges African-American lawyers Florida lawyers Florida state court judges Jesuit High School (Tampa) alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Notre Dame Law School alumni People from Pensacola, Florida People from Tampa, Florida United States Attorneys for the Middle District of Florida United States court of appeals judges appointed by Bill Clinton United States magistrate judges University of Notre Dame alumni 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges