Darrin P. Gayles

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]

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 assumed 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 a voice vote.[6] On June 16, 2014, the United States Senate invoked cloture by a 55–37 vote.[7] On June 17, 2014, his nomination was confirmed by a 98–0 vote,[8] making him the first openly gay African-American federal judge.[9][10] He received his judicial commission on June 19, 2014.[3]

Darrin P. Gayles U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

Sitting with the Eleventh 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."[11]