While a trial counsel in the Juvenile Division of the Hamilton County Public Defender's Office (2000-2003), Yates served as chairman of Cincinnati's Citizens Committee on Youth (2002).
In 2008, Yates served as chairman of the Local Host Blue Ribbon Committee for the NAACP National Convention.
While in the Ohio House of Representatives, Yates served on the Finance and Appropriations, Ways and Means, Civil and Commercial Law, and Criminal Justice Committees.
Yates served on the special legislative committee which was charged with recommending a distinguished Ohioan to be represented among the significant Americans in Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol.
He is a former member of the Ohio Arts Council and a former adjunct associate professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati.
In January 2010, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland appointed Yates to fill the unexpired term of Judge Nadine Lovelace Allen.
In 2019, Yates retained his seat on Hamilton County's municipal court for the second district, winning 74.48 percent of the vote.