TUSCALOOSA | Circuit Judge Steve Wilson sat on the bench in Tuscaloosa County for 25 years, but quietly retired last week, leaving Gov. Bob Riley to appoint someone to fill the vacancy.

Wilson’s last day at the courthouse was Jan. 31. He served as a Tuscaloosa County circuit judge for 23 years after holding a district judge position for two years.

The Tuscaloosa County Judicial Commission is accepting submissions from those who want to fill the position. The nine-member panel of attorneys and a judge will select three names to forward to the governor for consideration.

The chosen replacement will serve the remainder of Wilson’s term, which expires in 2010.

Those closest to Wilson weren’t surprised that he didn’t want any attention over his departure.  “He’s just not that kind of guy; he does not like to be the center of attention at all,” said David Northington, owner of Bama Exterminating, who worked as Wilson’s court reporter for 20 years.  The Tuscaloosa County Bar Association didn’t hold a party for him, something the organization typically would do for a retiring judge. Wilson made it clear he wanted no such celebration. Instead, the association catered a quiet lunch for his staff and a few other people during his last week. Attempts by The Tuscaloosa News to reach Wilson for comment were unsuccessful.

Michael Cartee, who has practiced law in Tuscaloosa for 25 years, called Wilson a “wonderfully fair” judge.  “He treated everyone with kindness and you could see him strive consciously to be just,” he said. “He’s a sincere Christian, the kind that has a certain inherent balance that I admire.”

Wilson earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in counseling from the University of Alabama. He attended law school at night while working as a counselor and received his degree in 1979.  He grew up close to the late A.K. “Temo” Callahan, a five-term state legislator and self-described “yellow dog” Democrat.  Northington said it was Callahan who helped get Wilson, at age 34, appointed district judge by Gov. George Wallace in 1983, and later circuit judge in 1985.  “He made a promise to Temo that he would always run as a Democrat, and he did, even when it wasn’t popular to do that,” Northington said. “Philosophically, he’s a conservative guy.”  Northington described Wilson as a man more interested in spending time with his family at their home in Coaling than playing golf or attending social events. “He’d rather fish and ride his tractor than anything,” he said.

Undoubtedly, one of Wilson’s most high-profile cases was a defamation suit filed by two former University of Alabama assistant football coaches, Ronnie Cottrell and Ivy Williams, against the National Collegiate Athletic Association and former recruiting analyst Tom Culpepper.  In 2005, a jury awarded Cottrell $6 million in compensatory damages and $24 million in punitive damages — the largest civil penalty ever awarded in Tuscaloosa County.  But Wilson dismissed that verdict, calling it “severely flawed” and “obviously the result of passion, bias, prejudice, and emotions.”

Both sides filed appeals with the Alabama Supreme Court, which upheld nearly all of Wilson’s rulings, including those dismissing both Williams and the NCAA from the case, and granting a new trial in the defamation case brought by Cottrell against Culpepper. The coaches have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider an appeal.  “It was a highly stressful, charged atmosphere,” Northington said. “It put a toll on him. He just kept it to himself and wasn’t going to let it affect his decision.”

Cartee said Wilson handled the pressures of being a judge well.  “It’s an isolating job; the job by definition is isolating. Much like being an umpire, you have both teams yelling at you from the dugout,” he said.

Gordon Coates, who was Wilson’s bailiff for 18 years, said that the judge showed respect to everyone who came before him.  “Fairness and ethics is a part of his life,” he said. “He always kept a list of the cases that got reversed, and he had very few cases reversed.”

Circuit Judge John England, presiding judge for the 6th Judicial Circuit and chairman of the Judicial Commission, said that several applications have been picked up from his office.  “We will be looking for highly qualified and experienced lawyers,” he said. “Judge Wilson brought a good bit of experience to the bench. He served his community well — he served it with a quiet dignity. He’ll be missed.”