Circuit Judge Tatti resigns from bench, returning to private practice

[Courtesy of Fifth Judicial Circuit]

Fifth Circuit Judge Anthony Tatti has submitted his resignation and has decided to step away from the bench after nearly 13 years of service.

Once Tatti’s resignation takes effect March 1, he plans on returning to private practice at DeCarlis & Sawyer, the Gainesville law firm where he began his legal career as a clerk during law school nearly 40 years ago.

“I figure I have 10 or 15 years left working, and I can work at my own pace and do what I want to do when I want to do it,” Tatti said.

Tatti, 62, earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Florida and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from the University of South Florida.

Before being appointed as a judge by former Gov. Rick Scott in 2011, Tatti started his career as an assistant public defender for three years and then served as an assistant state attorney for 22 years.

Gov. Ron DeSantis will appoint someone to serve for the rest of Tatti’s term, which ends this year. Whoever is appointed to the seat may then run for reelection in the November general election for a term of six years.

The Fifth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission is now accepting applications for the appointment to fill Tatti’s vacancy. The application deadline is Feb. 7 at noon.

After experiencing some health issues and being hospitalized at the end of 2023, Tatti said he realized he wanted to end his time as a judge on a high note and transition into work that would allow him a little more flexibility for him and his family.

“I started with a law firm in private criminal defense practice. That’s where I’m going back to, the same firm almost 40 years later, but coming in as a partner,” he said.

Tatti said he has presided over three death penalty cases during his time as a judge, two of which resulted in the defendants being sentenced to death.

“Those are all fairly tense, when you handle cases like that,” he said.

With the difficulty of the position, Tatti said he felt it a learning experience to be a neutral executor of the court.

“As a judge, you have to listen more carefully to both sides because you’re not arguing one side against somebody,” he said. “It’s probably improved my ability to listen and digest both sides of an argument.”

When he takes on his role as partner at DeCarlis & Sawyer, Tatti said he hopes that he and his wife will get the chance to travel more once his schedule is more flexible.

“We try to travel as it is, but we’ll be a little bit more free to do that. She’s planning to retire at the end of the year,” Tatti said.

As for his successor, Tatti shares a word of advice: “Come in planning to work hard, because that’s really the only way to handle this job…this requires a lot of work, a lot of dedication and a lot of effort.”