David Stephen Tatel (born March 16, 1942) is an American lawyer who served as aUnited States circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

David S. Tatel
Judge Tatel during anaturalization ceremony at theNational Archives in 2017
Senior Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
In office May 16, 2022 – January 16, 2024
Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
In office October 7, 1994 – May 16, 2022
Appointed by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Succeeded by	J. Michelle Childs
Personal details
Born	David Stephen Tatel (1942-03-16)March 16, 1942 (age 83) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Education	University of Michigan (BA) University of Chicago (JD)

Tatel received hisBachelor of Arts from theUniversity of Michigan in 1963. He graduated from theUniversity of Chicago Law School in 1966 with aJuris Doctor.^[1]

After graduating from law school, he served as an instructor at theUniversity of Michigan Law School before joiningSidley Austin inChicago. He served as founding director of theChicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Director of the NationalLawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Director of the Office for Civil Rights of theUnited States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare during theCarter Administration.

In 1979, Tatel joined the law firm Hogan & Hartson (nowHogan Lovells), where he founded and headed the firm's education practice until his appointment to the D.C. Circuit.^[2] While on sabbatical from Hogan & Hartson, Tatel spent a year as a lecturer atStanford Law School. He also previously served as Acting General Counsel for theLegal Services Corporation.^[3]

Tatel was nominated by PresidentBill Clinton on June 20, 1994, to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated by JudgeRuth Bader Ginsburg. He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on October 6, 1994, by avoice vote, and received commission on October 7, 1994.^[4] He announced his intent to assumesenior status upon confirmation of a successor on February 12, 2021.^[5] Tatel assumedsenior status on May 16, 2022.^[4] He announced his plans to retire from the bench in September 2023 to return to a law firm where he worked before he became a federal judge.^[6][7] He retired from judicial service on January 16, 2024.^[4]

Environment

In 1999, Tatel dissented inAmerican Trucking v. United States EPA, a case about theEPA's power to set emission standards under theClean Air Act. Tatel rejected the majority's invocation of the "nondelegation doctrine," arguing that the agency's actions were permissible.^[8] In a unanimous opinion written byJustice Antonin Scalia, theSupreme Court eventually reversed the majority's opinion, liberally adopting the reasoning of Tatel's dissent.^[9]

In 2005, Tatel was assigned toMassachusetts v. EPA, a case that centered on whether theClean Air Act allowed the EPA to regulategreenhouse gases. In a dissenting opinion, Tatel sided with the EPA, finding thatCongress had clearly given the agency authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.^[10] The Supreme Court again agreed with Tatel, vacating the D.C. Circuit's opinion in a 5–4 decision.^[11]

In April 2020, Tatel wrote for the unanimous panel when it invalidated as arbitrary and capricious a directive by EPA AdministratorScott Pruitt attempting to prohibit scientists who had received EPA research grants from serving on its advisory panels.^[12][13]

Voting Rights

In 2008, Tatel authored the majority opinion inNorthwest Austin Mun. Util. Dist. One v. Mukasey, which held that Section 5 of theVoting Rights Act is constitutional.^[14] Less than four years later, Tatel also wrote the majority opinion inShelby County v. Holder, again upholding the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights. In a landmark voting rights decision, the Supreme Court eventually reversed his opinion by a 5–4 vote.^[15]

Privilege

Tatel dissented in two importantattorney-client privilege cases. In 1997, he wrote the dissenting opinion inSwidler & Berlin v. United States, explaining that the notes from conversations betweenVincent Foster and his attorney were protected by the attorney-client privilege even after Foster's death. The Supreme Court, in a 6–3 ruling, later sided with Tatel and ruled to protect the notes.^[16] The following year, Tatel concurred in part and dissented in part inIn Re: Bruce Lindsey, a case involving whether Special CounselKen Starr could seek grand jury testimony aboutMonica Lewinsky from deputy White House counselBruce Lindsey. Tatel argued that presidents should enjoy attorney-client privilege in their communications with White House Counsel.^[17]

First Amendment

In 2005, Tatel authored a concurring opinion inIn Re: Grand Jury Subpoena, Judith Miller, a case about whether theFirst Amendment allows reporters to refuse to disclose their sources to a grand jury. Tatel agreed with the majority that the First Amendment did not protectJudith Miller in the case, but he wrote separately to argue that federal courts should recognize a "reporter's privilege."^[18]

In 2020, Tatel authored the unanimous opinion inKarem v. Trump, which upheld a judge's order restoring aWhite House press pass to a reporter who got into an argument with one ofPresident Donald Trump's supporters.^[19][20]

Guantanamo Bay

Tatel heard several appeals from prisoners held in theGuantanamo Bay Detention Camp. In 2017, Tatel, along with Judges Rogers and Griffith, wrote a per curiam opinion vacating a decision of a military judge againstKhalid Sheikh Mohammad because of biased statements made by the judge against the defendant.^[21] In 2019, Tatel also wrote a majority opinion vacating decisions againstAbd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, finding that the military judge wrongly hid his pursuit of a job with the government while presiding over al-Nashiri's case.^[22] Tatel dissented in a 2011 case involvingAdnan Farhad Abd Al Latif,Al Latif v. Obama. Tatel would have upheld a district court decision ordering Al Latif's release underBoumediene v. Bush.^[23]

Disability

In 2019, Tatel authored the majority opinion inD.L. v. District of Columbia, aclass action lawsuit filed by the parents of D.C. children. Tatel found that the District violated the "Child Find" requirement of theIndividuals with Disabilities Education Act by failing to provide adequatespecial education services to D.C. children.^[24][25]

Other Issues

In June 2017, Tatel found theForeign Sovereign Immunities Act did not prevent the survivors of aHolocaust victim from suing to recover art stolen byNazi plunderers, over the partial dissent of Senior JudgeA. Raymond Randolph.^[26][27]

In October 2019, Tatel filed the majority opinion inTrump v. Mazars USA, LLP, finding that theU.S. House of RepresentativesCommittee on Oversight and Reform had the authority to compelMazars, via subpoena, to produce documents relating to the personal financial information of PresidentDonald Trump, including several years' worth of income tax returns.^[28] That decision wasvacated andremanded, 7–2, by theSupreme Court in an opinion written by Chief JusticeJohn Roberts on July 9, 2020.^[29]

Tatel serves as co-chair of theNational Academy of Sciences' Committee on Science, Technology, and Law. He is a member of theAmerican Philosophical Society^[30] and theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences. He serves on the Trustee Board of theFoundation Fighting Blindness. He chaired the Board ofThe Spencer Foundation from 1990 to 1997 and the Board ofThe Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching from 2005 to 2009.

Tatel and his wife, Edie, have four children, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.^[31]

Tatel has beenblind since the 1970s due toretinitis pigmentosa.^[32] His guide dog, Vixen, is aGerman Shepherd.^[33]

In 2006, Tatel received an Alumni Medal from theUniversity of Chicago.^[34] He holds honorary degrees fromMacalaster College (2004) andGeorgetown University (2010).^[35][36] In 2019, theChicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights granted its Legal Champion Award to Tatel.^[37] A year later, he was awarded the 2020 Henry Allen Moe Prize from theAmerican Philosophical Society.^[38]Tatel also received theAmerican Inns of Court Professionalism Award in 2023 and Legal Aid DC's Servant of Justice Award in 2024.^[39][40]

• Tatel, David S. (September 13, 1997).Alexander F. Morrison Lecture. Annual Meeting of the California State Bar, San Diego, CA
• Tatel, David S. (June 25, 2002).Remarks of David S. Tatel on the Occasion of the Spencer Foundation's 30th Anniversary Dinner. Chicago, IL
• Tatel, David S. (October 16, 2003).Remarks on the Occasion of the Portrait Hanging Ceremony for the Honorable Patricia Wald. Washington, D.C.
• Tatel, David S. (January 19, 2004).Macalester College Graduation Ceremony Speech. St. Paul, MN
• Tatel, David S., "Madison Lecture: Judicial Methodology, Southern School Desegregation, and the Rule of Law,79 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1071 (2004).
• Tatel, David S. (October 27, 2006). "Remarks on the Occasion of the Portrait Hanging Ceremony for the Honorable Stephen F. Williams". Washington, D.C.
• Tatel, David S. (November 15, 2008).Remarks of David S. Tatel. The American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, PA
• Tatel, David S. (January 17, 2009).Litigation and Integration Then and Now. Delivered atPassing the Torch: the Past, Present, and Future of Interdistrict School Desegregation, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA
• Tatel, David S. (December 8, 2009).Remarks on the Occasion of the Portrait Hanging Ceremony for the Honorable James Robertson. Washington, D.C.
• Tatel, David S. (May 6, 2010). "Legacy of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens". CSPAN, Washington, D.C.
• Tatel, David S. (April 23, 2012).Habeas Corpus: Remarks of Judge David S. Tatel. Cosmos Club, Washington, D.C.
• Tatel, David S. (April 5, 2013).Remarks on the Occasion of the Portrait Hanging Ceremony for the Honorable David B. Sentelle. Washington, D.C.
• Tatel, David S. (November 15, 2013).Remarks of David S. Tatel. The American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, PA
• Tatel, David S. (April 28, 2018).Separation of Powers and Statutory Interpretation: A Battle Hidden in Plain Sight. The American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, PA
• Tatel, David S. and Ruther Bader Ginsburg. (October 24, 2018).Tenth Annual Judge Thomas A. Flannery Lecture, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Flannery Lecture Series, Washington, D.C.
• Tatel, David S. (September 16, 2022).Expression of Gratitude on the Occasion of the Portrait Hanging Ceremony for the Honorable David S. Tatel. Washington, D.C.
• Tatel, David S. (March 18, 2022). "Life, Law, and Vision Loss with Judge Tatel".Hadley Helps.
• Liptak, Adam (May 27, 2024). "Lessons from Judge David Tatel's Guide Dog on Blindness and Vision".New York Times.
• Marimow, Ann E. (June 7, 2024). "Retired judge David Tatel issues a stark warning about the Supreme Court."The Washington Post.
• Tatel, David S. (June 11, 2024).Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice. Little, Brown and Company.
• Tatel, David S. (June 11, 2024). "David S. Tatel Book Talk with Jane Mayer". Politics and Prose, Washington, D.C.
• Tatel, David S. (June 11, 2024). "Judge David Tatel on Becoming the Blind Role Model he Never Had."National Public Radio.
• Tatel, David S. (June 14, 2024). "Retired offers stark warning about U.S. Supreme Court".CNN, The Lead with Jake Tapper.
• Tatel, David S. (June 19, 2024). "Booknotes + Podcast – Judge David Tatel, 'Vision'". CSPAN, Washington, D.C.
• Tatel, David S. (July 3, 2024). "A Former Federal Judge Fears for Democracy". Fresh Air, NPR.

• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States

• David S. Tatel at theBiographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of theFederal Judicial Center.
• White House press release announcing Tatel's nomination
• Official D.C. Circuit Biography
• Appearances onC-SPAN
• Finding aid to theDavid S. Tatel papers at theLibrary of Congress