Episode 7 (David Tatel) - “A Contemplative Life”: The Honorable David Tatel on Law, Judicial Restraint, and His Journey Through Blindness

David Tatel grew up believing in the power of law and science to make life better for everyone. He began doing that work himself, launching a decades-long career as a civil rights lawyer and later, as a judge in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He fought and decided cases on various topics, notably education, voting rights, environmental law, and disability protections. Along the way, disability took on a personal meaning in his life as he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that began to take away his vision. For much of his decades-long career as a lawyer and judge, he hid his failing vision.

Writing his memoir, Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice, gave Judge Tatel the time and space to reflect back on his 50 years in law and justice, and helped him rethink his relationship to his blindness. The book, along with his trusty guide dog, Vixen, helped him realize that his blindness is an essential part of his life and that "acknowledgement is better for everybody.”

In this episode of Useful Knowledge, Judge Tatel joins host Patrick Spero to reflect on his philosophy of judicial restraint, his concerns about the future of American law, and becoming the role model he never had. 

Judge David Tatel served on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1994 to 2024. After graduating from the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago Law School (1966), he served as the founding director of the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and then director of the National Lawyers Committee. He headed the Office for Civil Rights of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare during the Carter administration (1977-1979) and then founded and led the education practice at Hogan Lovells (1979-1994), where he is now Senior Counsel. In addition to APS, Judge Tatel is a member of the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In the past, he co-chaired the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Science, Technology and Law, and chaired the boards of The Spencer Foundation and The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Judge Tatel and his wife, Edie, live in Virginia and Washington, D.C. They have four children, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.