Stanley Cary Gaylord is an Army veteran and an accomplished attorney. He specializes in eminent domain and inverse condemnation proceedings—a career inspired by his father-in-law, who had his property unjustly taken by the State of Florida shortly after his return from service in World War II. Gaylord has represented property owners across Florida for decades and is repeatedly recognized as one of Florida’s top attorneys.
Gaylord now wishes to serve on the Statewide Judicial Nominating Commission for Judges of Compensation Claims. As a member of the Commission, he would be responsible for recommending candidates for appointment as Judges of Compensation Claims—the judges who decide workers’ compensation disputes across Florida’s 13 district offices.
But Florida law does not evaluate candidates for the Commission on professional qualifications alone. The 18-member Commission is filled through three appointment tracks—six members named by The Florida Bar Board of Governors, six electors appointed by the governor, and six electors chosen by a majority vote of the other members of the Judicial Nominating Commission. Each track carries the same requirement: At least one appointee must be “a member of a minority group.” The State’s definition of “minority group” includes sex- and race-based categories.
The quota traces to the late 1990s. The legislative record offers no explanation of what problem it was meant to solve, and the law names no governmental interest the classification serves. What it does do is disqualify otherwise-eligible candidates like Gaylord from certain seats for reasons that have nothing to do with their ability to serve.
Gaylord filed a lawsuit with the help of Pacific Legal Foundation, challenging the quota under the Equal Protection Clause. Courts subject race-based government classifications to the most demanding constitutional review, which Florida’s law does not meet. The sex-based classification likewise fails constitutional scrutiny.
The lawsuit also argues the quota violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause, which guarantees that all citizens are entitled to the same rights of citizenship.
Public service should be open to every qualified Floridian on equal terms. When the government sorts candidates by race or sex before asking if they are qualified, it treats those characteristics as more important than the work itself. A win for Gaylord would affirm that the path to serving your state runs through merit, not through boxes the government has decided you must check.
What’s At Stake?
- The Constitution requires the government to treat every person as an individual—not as a member of a racial group. Government programs that award benefits or impose burdens based on race or sex violate the guarantee of equal protection under the law.
