Civility vs. Collegiality | Interview: Judges Tom Griffith and David Tatel

Sarah Isgur and David French invite former D.C. Circuit judges Tom Griffith and David Tatel to discuss relationships, judicial independence, and what it means to be a “former” judge. But first, bar complaints and the White House ballroom injunction. The Agenda: –Someone file a bar complaint! –Disagreeing respectfully –What’s next for judges after they retire? –Breaking news Order Sarah’s book⁠ here.⁠ Advisory Opinions is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—⁠click here⁠. If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Sarah Isgur is a senior editor at The Dispatch and is based in northern Virginia. Prior to joining the company in 2019, she had worked in every branch of the federal government and on three presidential campaigns. She’s also a ABC News contributor and the author of Last Branch Standing, a deep dive into the inner workings of the Supreme Court. When Sarah is not hosting podcasts or writing newsletters, she’s probably sending uplifting stories about spiders to Jonah, who only pretends to love all animals. David French is a columnist for the New York Times. He’s a former senior editor of The Dispatch. He’s the author most recently of Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. The podcast transcription below was generated using artificial intelligence and may include occasional errors or misspellings. Sarah Isgur 0:00 [ keyring jangling] Ready? David French 0:02 I was born ready. David French 0:06 [upbeat music] Sarah Isgur 0:19 Welcome to Advisory Opinions. I'm Sarah Isgur. That's David French. We will talk about bar fare. We will talk about administrative stays and interim dockets all the way down. But then we will have an amazing conversation with former DC Circuit Judges Tom Griffith and David Tatel. Now, by way of some background, Tom Griffith served on the DC Circuit for 15 years, from 2005 to 2020. He was a George W. Bush appointee. Judge Tatel was on the DC Circuit for 30 years, appointed by Bill Clinton and retiring just a couple years ago. They've been doing a bit of a road show on judicial independence and judicial collegiality, and I thought, "Well, that sounds very AO." And also, I summered at Wiley Rein, where Judge Griffith had been a partner, and that summer I got to use his standing desk, and it was amazing, David. He has incredible taste in wood furniture. So, I mean, that alone- David French 1:25 Is that what converted you to standing desks? Interactive transcripts are available to Premium members. Join to follow along with the audio. Join Now More We Think You’d Like