David Tatel

David Tatel

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (senior status)

Tenure

2022 - Present

Years in position

2

Prior offices

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Successor: Julianna Michelle Childs

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Education

Bachelor's

University of Michigan, 1963

Law

University of Chicago Law School, 1966

Personal

Birthplace

District of Columbia

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David S. Tatel is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He joined the court in 1994 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton (D). He assumed senior status on May 16, 2022.

Tatel ruled with the majority in a 2014 case regarding whether judges had the authority to adjudicate cases presenting habeas corpus challenges to inmate treatment at Guantanamo Bay. Learn more about this case below.

Biography

Early life and education

A native of Washington, D.C., Tatel graduated from the University of Michigan with his bachelor's degree in 1963 and from the University of Chicago Law School with his J.D. in 1966.

Professional career

• 1994 - Present: Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
• Senior judge: 2022-present
• Active judge: 1994-2022
• 1979-1994: Private practice, Washington, D.C.
• 1977-1979: Director, Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
• 1974-1977: Private practice, Washington, D.C.
• 1972-1974: Director, Chicago Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
• 1970-1972: Private practice, Chicago, Ill.
• 1969-1970: Executive director, Chicago Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
• 1967-1969: Private practice, Chicago, Ill.
• 1966-1967: Instructor, University of Michigan Law School

Judicial career

District of Columbia Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: David S. Tatel
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 109 days after nomination.
ANominated: June 20, 1994
AABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire:
AHearing: September 21, 1994
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: September 28, 1994
AConfirmed: October 7, 1994
AVote: Voice vote

Tatel was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by President Bill Clinton on June 20, 1994, to a seat vacated by Ruth Bader Ginsburg upon her elevation to the Supreme Court of the United States. The American Bar Association rated Tatel Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Tatel's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 21, 1994, and his nomination was reported by then-U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) on September 28, 1994. Tatel was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on October 7, 1994, and he received his commission the same day.

In February 2021, Tatel announced that he would assume senior status once his successor was confirmed.

Noteworthy cases

D.C. Circuit permits Guantanamo detainees to challenge prison conditions (2014)

The D.C. Circuit held that judges had the authority to adjudicate cases presenting habeas corpus challenges to inmate treatment at Guantanamo Bay. Judge David Tatel, writing for a divided three-judge panel, held in this case that despite forced feedings raising what he described as serious ethical concerns, Tatel held that the military had a right to protect the lives of the inmates, which included the use of forced feedings if necessary.

After the ruling, lawyers for the inmates said that this ruling gave federal judges the right to intercede when inmates are mistreated at Guantanamo Bay. The case also settled the question of whether detainees at Guantanamo Bay had the right to judicial review.

Articles:

• NY Times, "Appeals Court Allows Challenges by Detainees at Guantánamo Prison," February 11, 2014
• The Jurist, "Federal appeals court denies Guantanamo detainees' challenge to force-feeding," February 12, 2014
• The Guardian, “Guantánamo hunger strikers able to challenge force-feeding, court rules,” February 11, 2014

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Judge Tatel's biography from the Federal Judicial Center

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit 1994-2022	Succeeded by Julianna Michelle Childs