Florida attorney challenges race- and sex-based barriers to public service

Tallahassee, Florida; October 14, 2026: A Florida attorney filed a lawsuit today challenging a law that bars qualified candidates from serving on a judicial nominating commission because of their race or sex. Stanley Cary Gaylord alleges that Florida’s quota system, which reserves seats for members of certain demographic groups, violates the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause by discriminating based on race and sex.

“When government decides who may serve based on race or sex, it engages in unconstitutional discrimination,” said Caitlyn Fellner, an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation. “Public service should be open to qualified people on equal terms. Gaylord deserves the freedom to pursue service to his state without unconstitutional barriers that reduce him to a demographic category.”

Gaylord is an Army veteran and accomplished attorney who has spent decades defending Florida property owners’ constitutional rights. He now seeks to serve on the Statewide Judicial Nominating Commission for Judges of Compensation Claims.

Florida’s law requires the 18-member commission to include at least three members of a “minority group”—a category that includes both race- and sex-based classifications—thereby excluding Gaylord from competing for those reserved seats. Gaylord’s lawsuit challenges those requirements under the Equal Protection Clause and Citizenship Clause. A victory would restore the principle that qualified Floridians may pursue public service based on their qualifications—not government-imposed race- and sex-based quotas.

Pacific Legal Foundation represents Gaylord free of charge. The case is Stanley Cary Gaylord v. Governor DeSantis, et al.