The second half of the 20th century saw monumental shifts in civil rights in the United States, with the end of legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement affecting all spheres of life, from education to health care to housing to marriage and more. 

Judge David S. Tatel is a civil rights lawyer who has contributed to key advancements in voting rights, educational equality, and disability rights. Over the course of his five-decade career, he has served as Director of the National Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, as Director of the Office for Civil Rights during the Carter administration, and as a federal judge on the D.C. Circuit, considered the second highest court in America. 

Judge Tatel also happens to be blind, due to a rare genetic condition called retinitis pigmentosa. In 2024, he published a book titled Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice. 

Over the course of our conversation, Judge Tatel opens up about how he has wrestled with vision impairment in both his legal career and his personal life. He discusses what it was like to be diagnosed with an incurable, progressive, blinding disease as a teenager, how he struggled to make sense of his identity as a blind individual even as his career was taking off, his philosophy as a lawyer, how his beautiful relationship with his wife and children have helped him navigate the world, and how he met his guide dog, Vixen. Judge Tatel's legacy is one of judicial integrity, a lifelong commitment to equality, and a testament to the boundless potential of individuals living with disabilities.

In this episode, you’ll hear about: 

3:45 - Judge Tatel’s experience of being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa as a teenager 

15:33 - The inspiration that led Judge Tatel to focus his legal career on civil rights

22:47 - Judge Tatel’s experience of progressively losing his vision while ascending in his legal career 

28:05 - Visual elements of life that Judge Tatel misses and how he now “experiences” vision

33:12 - Why Judge Tatel regrets concealing the truth about his blindness early in his career 

37:01 - How Judge Tatel’s blindness has influenced his civil rights work

44:45 - Judge Tatel’s concerns about the future of democracy in the United States 

46:27 - The ways in which getting a guide dog late in life changed Judge Tatel’s sense of freedom and his perspective on blindness 

49:06 - Judge Tatel’s advice to his former self 

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