Darrin P. Gayles

Darrin Gayles
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Incumbent
Assumed office June 19, 2014
Appointed by	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Patricia Seitz
Personal details
Born	1966 (age 49–50) Peoria, Illinois, U.S.
Residence	Miami Shores, Florida. U.S.
Alma mater	Howard University George Washington University

Darrin Phillip Gayles (born 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.

Biography

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.

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.^[1]

Personal

Gayles is openly gay.^[2]

Federal judicial service

On February 6, 2014, President 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.^[3] He received a hearing before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on April 1, 2014.^[4]

On May 8, 2014 his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.^[5]

On June 12, 2014, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed for a motion to invoke cloture on the nomination. On June 16, 2014 the U.S. Senate voted 55-37 on the motion to invoke cloture.^[6] On June 17, 2014 the U.S. Senate voted 98-0 in favor of final confirmation,^[7] making Gayles the first openly gay African-American man to be confirmed as a U.S. federal judge.^[8] He received his judicial commission on June 19, 2014.^[9]

References

1. "President Obama Announces Intent to Nominate Four to Serve on the United States District Courts" White House, February 5, 2014
2. "Obama nominates four for federal judgeships, including gay Miami-Dade Judge Darrin Gayles" Miami Herald, February 5, 2014
3. "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate" White House, February 6, 2014
4. "Nominations". United States Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. 1 April 2014.
5. "Executive Business Meeting" (PDF). United States Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. 8 May 2014.
6. "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 113th Congress - 2nd Session". Vote Summary: Vote Number 194. United States Senate. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
7. "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 113th Congress - 2nd Session". Vote Summary: Vote Number 197. United States Senate. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
8. 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.
9. "Biographical Directory of Federal Judges". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved 19 June 2014.

External links

• Darrin Phillip Gayles at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.