Lessons from Judge David Tatel’s Guide Dog on Blindness and Vision

Had Al Gore won the presidency in 2000, a lot of people thought, he would have put Judge David S. Tatel on the Supreme Court. The judge had a towering intellect, was a model judicial craftsman and, only incidentally, had been blind since his 30s.

But George W. Bush prevailed, with an assist from a closely divided Supreme Court. President Bush went on to appoint two members of the court, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., propelling it toward its current trajectory.

Judge Tatel served for 23 more years on the U.S. Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia Circuit. He relied on people who would read to him, increasingly sophisticated technology and an astounding memory to produce a widely admired body of judicial work that included major opinions on voting rights, the environment and the internet.

He was for years reluctant to talk about his blindness. And judicial tact, he said, required him to suppress his increasing discomfort with the direction of the Supreme Court.

In “Vision,” a candid and moving memoir to be published next month, Judge Tatel weaves those two themes together. He discussed them over coffee at the kitchen table in his Washington apartment, with his guide dog, Vixen, looking on attentively.