Judge Andrew J. Decker III

The Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) has found Third Judicial Circuit Judge Andrew J. Decker III guilty of charges related to election violations and misconduct while practicing law in foreclosure cases. The charges were filed by the JQC in 2014 for Decker’s reported violations of judicial canons and misconduct prior to his election as judge in November 2012. A hearing by the JQC was held Dec. 10-12, 2014 in Live Oak.

According to the JQC’s final filings, the charges against Decker relate to his conduct while he was a practicing attorney and a candidate for judicial office, not while he was a sitting judge. Two charges are election violations while others relate to Decker’s alleged misconduct as an attorney in various mortgage foreclosure cases, the documents state.

The first charge against Decker was filed for his statement during a televised debate that, as a lawyer, he had never had a conflict of interest or represented more than one side in a civil case. The JQC found Decker guilty of making a false statement.

The JQC’s third charge against Decker stems from Decker identifying himself as a member of the Republican party and taking a pro-life stance on the legal and political issue of abortion. The JQC found Decker guilty of violating judicial canons that call for neutrality.

Another charge relates to Decker’s conduct as an attorney in a foreclosure case involving Circuit Judge Paul Bryan, Daniel Dukes, and William Woodington in which Decker failed to disclose attorney/client relationships and had conflicts of interest. 
The JQC also found Decker guilty for failure to disclose an attorney/client relationship and a conflict of interest during a separate foreclosure case, and several other charges that deal with foreclosure cases in which Decker reportedly communicated with a person represented by another counsel without that counsel’s consent.

Decker’s attorneys filed an answer to these formal charges in April and asked for a motion to dismiss the charge and to dismiss alleged violations of canons 1, 2 and 3 of the Code of Judicial Conduct. The JQC denied these motions, but later dismissed the charges of violations against judicial canons 1, 2 and 3 in June 2014.

The JQC recommended Decker to be publicly reprimanded, to be ordered to pay the costs of the court proceedings, and to be suspended from office for 90 days without pay.

The JQC findings will go to the Florida Supreme Court who will decide the matter from there.

“Judge Decker regrets that any of his prior actions have caused the judiciary of the Third Circuit to be cast in a bad light,” said Decker’s attorney, Scott K. Tozian. “He is thankful that this process is one step closer to conclusion and he is looking forward to continuing to serve the people of the Third Circuit.”

Judge Andrew Decker is a judge in Florida’s Third Judicial Circuit, which consists of Columbia, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee and Taylor counties. He currently handles cases in Hamilton and Madison counties. Decker was first admitted to the Florida Bar in 1979 and became an elected judge in 2012. Prior to becoming a judge, he ran a successful law firm in Live Oak, which continues to operate under his family.