Arbiter in the Middle Called ‘Hard to Fool’

In his five years as a U.S. District Court judge in Tampa, Fla., James D. Whittemore has presided over cases involving a racketeering motorcycle gang leader, a baseball pitcher and profiteering church leaders.

But no case has had the visibility of the one involving Terri Schiavo, whose parents, citing a law passed by Congress, implored him Monday to order the reinsertion of the feeding tube that has kept the brain-damaged woman alive for 15 years.

Lawyers who have appeared before Whittemore, who was appointed to the bench by President Clinton in 1999 and confirmed the next year, described the judge as a strong presence in the courtroom who was prone to asking forthright questions.

“He’s a very savvy judge,” said John Fitzgibbons, a Tampa lawyer. “It’s hard to fool Judge Whittemore. He has an excellent judicial temperament. He listens to what everyone says and he’s very much in control in the courtroom. There’s never any doubt he’s in charge.”

Whittemore, 52, “epitomizes what a federal judge should be,” Fitzgibbons said. “He’s nonpartisan. There’s no hidden agenda. If anything, he’s probably on the conservative side, but he listens to all sides.... He is very highly regarded by both defense lawyers and prosecutors. He’s had a wealth of experience on the civil bench and the criminal bench, so he’s a perfect match for this case.”

Whittemore, whose appointment to the U.S. District Court for the middle district of Florida came on the recommendation of former Sen. Bob Graham, a Florida Democrat, did not make an immediate ruling on the request by Schiavo’s parents.

Whittemore was assigned to the general civil division of the circuit bench in 1990. Before becoming a circuit judge, he had a private law practice.

The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Assn. named him outstanding jurist of 1999, an award that honors a judge with an “excellent reputation for sound judicial decisions and an unblemished record of integrity.”

Last year, Whittemore sentenced the president of the Outlaws biker gang, James Lee “Frank” Wheeler, to 16 1/2 years in prison for racketeering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges.

In 2001, the judge ruled against the leaders of Greater Ministries, a Tampa church, who were convicted of building a pyramid scheme that bilked more than $1 million from nearly 18,000 victims.

Whittemore also denied Cuban pitcher Rolando Viera’s 2001 bid for free agency, saying the left-hander would not suffer irreparable harm if selected in the amateur draft.

In 2002, the judge tossed out a lawsuit challenging one of the nation’s first mandatory school-uniform policies, ruling there was nothing unconstitutional about requiring students to wear uniforms to public schools.

Most recently, he ruled in favor of a former school administrator who contended that his bosses retaliated against him after he exposed widespread waste and mismanagement at his local school district.

Whittemore, who was born in Walterboro, S.C., in 1952, received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Florida in 1974 and a law degree from Stetson University College of Law in 1977.