There are plenty of people Peorians can be proud of here, there and everywhere. One such person to have particular pride in is the Honorable Darrin Gayles.

The Peoria High graduate sits on the federal bench in Miami as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida. And he just might be surprised as anyone that the choices he made would help him become one of the most diverse judicial minds on the top of the legal world in South Beach. “I wasn’t planning on going to law school,” said Gayles, who was an undergraduate at Howard University

in Washington, D.C. “I wanted to work on The Hill.”

But he also realized “having a legal background would be great” for government so he enrolled at George Washington Law School, and began cobbling together an incredibly well-rounded legal career.

Gayles interned with the Labor Department in the Directorate of Civil Rights. That’s where his background gave him particular insight. His father died when Darrin was 5. Living with his mother and sister, Gayles went to Lincoln School before he was accepted into Washington Gifted School.

“It was unlike any other school — a lot more trust, a lot more autonomy,” he said of Peoria’s gifted program. “We didn’t have many Black students, which was different for me — different environment. Exposure to different kinds of people.”

An internship with Occupational Safety and Health Administration followed. And then came a trip to Florida that would lead him to preside over a case that rocked Major League Baseball and changed sports forever.

“One thing I swore I’d never do was criminal law,” Judge Gayles said. “I was looking to get into private practice, into civil rights. I wasn’t from Miami, wasn’t politically connected in South Beach.”

When he got back to GW law school, Gayles noticed a recruitment notice from the Florida State’s Attorney’s Office so he dropped off a resume on a lark. Next thing he knows, he’s a Florida prosecutor. “That was 29 years ago,” said Gayles, who was impressed that Florida State Attorney Janet Reno had just left to become U.S. Attorney General for President Bill Clinton.

“I didn’t know anybody,” he continued. “I never intended to stay.”

About five years later, though, Gayles joined the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service down there. Then came a stint as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Miami, where he spent five years in the appellate, major crimes and narcotics sections.

What would be next in a career that had already included civil rights, labor, immigration and major crimes? Private practice? “I was litigating. I knew my way around the court room,” Gayles said. “My goal was to try a death penalty case, which is the hardest case. I did that.”

Judging by his friend

A friend asked him if he considered the bench. In 2004, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Judge Gayles to the Miami-Dade County Court. In 2011, he was appointed to circuit court judge.

Then, in 2014, President Barack Obama nominated him to the bench in the Southern District of Florida, and with a Senate confirmation vote of 98-0, Judge Darrin Gayles became the first openly gay Black man to serve in the federal judiciary.

“I try to be the kind of judge if I was — God forbid — in front of a judge,” His Honor said. “Everybody is entitled to be treated with respect. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate the severity of crimes. I have given some severe sentences.”

Gayles sentenced Anthony Bosch to four years in federal prison after finding him guilty of, among other crimes, providing baseball stars Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun with performance-enhancing drugs at his Biogenesis of America clinic.

“That was a big one,” he recalls. “It was part of that whole Major League Baseball scandal. That case got a lot of press.”

Judge Gayles was then sure to point out the importance, and independence, of an impartial bench.

“Just like in any case, you have to resolve the issue,” he said. “The press did not factor in the case at all.”

The goal of issuing a verdict is so “People of reasonable intelligence can understand. If it is of bigger social import, the more that is important.”

This is where Gayles relies on his broad background. There is the rule of law, but there is also the duty to judge each case separately. “The task for all of us is to sentence each individual on their own merits. How did this person end up here? What are the circumstances?”

While Gayles says the court is unaffected by public outcry, there is a place for input. “Community involvement won’t affect my decision, but it may affect the order.” That is, any restitution owed, or are there custody decisions? Plus, are there needs that can be met as punishment is meted out? Judge Gayles has forged a fountain of knowledge to tap into as he makes his decisions.

Distinguished duty

“If the Supreme Court has spoke clearly on an issue — they are the ultimate arbiters of the law, they decide what the law means — we have to follow. I am bound by the circuit,” Judge Gayles clairifies. “For us, people below the Supreme Court, whether you agree with it or not, we follow the law.”

Following the facts is also a specific duty of the judiciary.

“What is the procedural posture of the case?” Gayles explains. “A standard motion to dismiss is different from a motion for summary judgement. A good lawyer or a good judge should be able to make distinctions, if there are distinctions to be made.

“The Supreme Court may say the law is this, but you may be able to distinguish the facts of cases. What is the crucial issue? You have to keep an open mind. Even with issues we’ve dealt with over and over again, you have to keep them separate.”

Speaking of SCOTUS, Gayles is excited now that Ketanji Brown Jackson is an Associate Justice. “What is sometimes lost is Justice Jackson is more qualified than any justice sitting on the court,” he said. “Her presence adds to the quality of the court.”

Judge Gayles likes the direction the nation’s courts are heading, but based on his background knows there’s still work to be done.

“I’m doing fine,” he said. “As far as diversity on the bench, it’s gotten better, but there is still room for improvement.”

Gayles is active in his community and is glad that President Joe Biden hired eight Black women judges to double the number in the federal judiciary, which he says encourages more minorities to apply.

“We’ve had more federal minority women law clerks because we’ve had more minority judges. That should not be the case. The bench should reflect the area it is in. It goes to the confidence in the judicial system. It provides for a better understanding of the issues. We have a long way to go just to have the bench coming close to where it should be.”

Meanwhile, Judge Gayles, who comes back to the River City once or twice a year, has work to do. In addition to the myriad cases involving a “Florida Man,” the Sunshine State is a hotbed of politically charged issues. The controversial Parental Rights in Education law could be challenged and some of the South’s recent voting regulations may come under scrutiny.

Funny, when His Honor was a state judge he noticed he had many more cases than the federal judges in his town. But now he realizes that even though he now has fewer cases and more law clerks and magistrate judges at his disposal, “cases are far more complex,” he explained. “Decisions are far more far-reaching.”

Ever wonder why court cases take months to proceed? Judges have to learn about the issues at hand. That means exhaustive research. Subject matter has to be thoroughly covered.

It’s His Honor’s Duty to his Country.

“People don’t want judges on a whim making decisions,” Judge Gayles concluded after reflecting on what it took to get to where he is today. “I work now harder than I ever have in my life.”