Darrin P. Gayles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Darrin P. Gayles
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Assumed office
June 19, 2014
Appointed byBarack Obama
Preceded byPatricia A. Seitz
Personal details
Born
Darrin Phillip Gayles

(1966-12-16) December 16, 1966 (age 55)[1]
Peoria, Illinois
ResidenceMiami Shores, Florida
EducationHoward University (B.A.)
George Washington University Law School (J.D.)

Darrin Phillip Gayles (born December 16, 1966) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and former Florida Circuit Court Judge.

Education and legal career[]

Gayles received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1990 from Howard University. He received a Juris Doctor in 1993 from the George Washington University Law School. He began his career as an Assistant State Attorney in the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office from 1993 to 1997. From 1997 to 1999, he served as an Assistant District Counsel at the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service. From 1999 to 2004, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.[2][3]

Judicial career[]

State judicial service[]

In 2004, Gayles became a judge, serving as a County Judge in Miami-Dade County within the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. From 2011 to 2014, he served as a Circuit Court Judge on the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.[2][3]

Federal judicial service[]

On February 6, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Gayles to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, to the seat vacated by Judge Patricia A. Seitz, who took senior status on November 16, 2012.[4] He received a hearing before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on April 1, 2014.[5] On May 8, 2014 his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.[6] On June 12, 2014, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed for a motion to invoke cloture on the nomination. On June 16, 2014 the United States Senate voted 55–37 on the motion to invoke cloture.[7] On June 17, 2014 the United States Senate voted 98–0 in favor of final confirmation,[8] making Gayles the first openly gay African-American man to be confirmed as a United States federal judge.[9] He received his judicial commission on June 19, 2014.[3]

Cases[]

Sitting with the 11th circuit in July 2020, Gayles dissented when the court upheld an Alabama voter ID law without a trial even though evidence showed that voters of color were twice as likely to lack ID as white voters. Gayles wrote "The majority opinion essentially argues that we should not penalize Alabama’s legislators for Alabama’s past; rather, we should start with a clean slate when reviewing the Photo ID Law. But this is not what the law commands us to do. Alabama’s history of voter suppression is relevant here and provides a wealth of direct and circumstantial evidence that should be considered at trial."[10]

Personal[]

Gayles is openly gay.[11]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ BlackPast Darrin Phillip Gayles (1966- )
  2. ^ a b "President Obama Announces Intent to Nominate Four to Serve on the United States District Courts". whitehouse.gov. 5 February 2014 – via National Archives.
  3. ^ a b c "Gayles, Darrin Phillip – Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
  4. ^ "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov. 6 February 2014 – via National Archives.
  5. ^ "Nominations". United States Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. 1 April 2014.
  6. ^ "Executive Business Meeting" (PDF). United States Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. 8 May 2014.
  7. ^ "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 113th Congress – 2nd Session". Vote Summary: Vote Number 194. United States Senate. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  8. ^ "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 113th Congress – 2nd Session". Vote Summary: Vote Number 197. United States Senate. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  9. ^ Weaver, Jay (June 17, 2014). "Miami's Gayles confirmed as first openly gay black male judge on federal bench". Miami Herald. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  10. ^ "18-10151 Greater Birmingham Ministries v. Secretary of State for Alabama" (PDF). Justia. July 21, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  11. ^ "Obama nominates four for federal judgeships, including gay Miami-Dade Judge Darrin Gayles – Steve Rothaus' Gay South Florida". miamiherald.typepad.com.

External links[]

Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
2014–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""