We see him on the news and read his words in the paper. He’s responsible for the lives of people who have committed brutalities affecting the victims, as well as the rest of society.

Circuit Judge, Chet A. Tharpe, presides over many high-profile cases in Florida. In 2010, he sentenced Stephanie Ragusa, a Hillsborough County teacher, to prison for 10 years for having sex with two of her students and the Bloomingdale Library rapist Kendrick Morris, who is charged for brutally raping and beating a minor. Recently he has been in the news for the case of Luis Munuzuri-Harris also known as the Bayshore rapist.

Harris was found guilty last week of raping a woman, while impersonating an officer, along Bayshore Blvd. in Tampa. The case was unusual because Harris fired his defenders and decided to become his own lawyer. It’s Harris’ constitutional right to represent himself in a court of law but in a criminal case, it drastically slows down the courts and makes things more difficult.

“The person who represents himself has a fool for a client,” said Tharpe. “The reason is because you’re not able to separate emotion from what’s really important; you can’t see the forest for the trees. When you get someone who doesn’t have legal training, they don’t understand what’s admissible or non-admissible."

At the end of the hearing, Harris pleaded for a mistrial but was denied based on possible harm to the victim if she had to testify again. Tharpe also felt Harris had originally planned on setting the trial up to guarantee a mistrial.

"Quite frankly, I think Mr. Harris is an intelligent individual, I think he might have outsmarted himself," said Tharpe.

Harris admitted he’s not ready to defend himself and asked the public defenders to come back on the case but the damage was done. A jury convicted Harris of rape, kidnapping, impersonating an officer and theft. His sentencing will take place next month.

On the bench, Tharpe sees terrible crimes against humanity and judges them based on morals and expectations all of society is expected to live by. At home there's another side of Tharpe. When entering his beautiful home in Brandon, Fla. there will be more than just Tharpe and his wife. You’ll see his little granddaughters, Abby and Ella, dancing around the kitchen in little ballerina tutus, a family room with inviting sofas and a dog named Gator who enjoys a snooze accompanied with a loud yet non-intrusive snore.

Tampa has always been home to Tharpe. He grew up in Carrollwood and loved to spend time playing little league. Tharpe attended the University of Florida until his marriage, which was during his junior year. He moved back to Tampa and graduated from the University of South Florida with a degree in accounting. After three years as an accountant he decided to go to law school at South Texas College of Law in Houston. Tharpe worked as a lawyer for several years but the long hours and time away from his young family burnt him out.

“I was very successful but I got to a point where I hated what I was doing and wanted to try something else,” said Tharpe. “It ended up being the best thing that happened because I became a judge.”

This article appears in Jan 20-26, 2011.