[2][3] From 1977 until 2011, Dalton worked as a civil litigator for a variety of different law firms.
He was part of a different Orlando law firm from 1986 until 1989, and then from 1989 until 1998, he was part of an Orlando law firm where one of his fellow partners was future United States Senator Mel Martinez.
From 2004 to 2011, Dalton had been of counsel to The Carlyle Appellate Law Firm in The Villages, Florida.
[2][3] On November 17, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Dalton to fill a judicial vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida that was created by the transition to senior status by Judge Henry Lee Adams Jr. in April 2010.
Pursuant to an agreement of April 14, 2011, the Senate deemed his nomination confirmed by unanimous consent during executive proceedings that were held on May 2, 2011.