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Hon. Deanell Reece Tacha Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

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Hon. Deanell Reece Tacha Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Published October 2006 Judicial Profile CHRISTOPHER M. PARENT Hon. Deanell Reece Tacha Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit EVEN THE MOST loyal Jayhawk would admit that Tacha, “who got sort of plucked out, if you will. And she made all the difference.” Before attending KU, the journey from Scandia, Kansas, to Lawrence, Judge Tacha had been exposed only to women whose Kansas, is a tedious one. Even though the route careers were “quite traditional.” Emily Taylor encour- aged Judge Tacha to explore the possibilities that lay is marked by the beauty of the open space that beyond those traditional roles. According to Tacha, is endemic to America’s heartland, the roads are Dean Taylor “took these relatively untested, Kansas mostly, women and managed to make out of us a flat and the scenery dull. group of women with far greater aspirations than we could ever have conceived when we set foot on this The journey that has taken Deanell Reece Tacha campus.” from her hometown of Scandia to her longtime home As she approached her graduation from the Uni- of Lawrence, where she presides over the U.S. Court versity of Kansas, Judge Tacha was faced with mak- of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit as chief judge, has ing a decision about her future. The story behind her been anything but boring. Judge Tacha has remained decision to pursue a legal career reflects the common- true to her Kansas roots, even though her path to be- sense approach she has taken throughout her career coming one of the country’s most powerful jurists has on the bench. Based in part on Taylor’s encourage- been filled with as many twists and turns as a Kansas ment, Tacha took all postgraduate tests, including the tornado. LSAT, MCAT, and GRE. She opted to attend law school because she scored the highest on the LSAT. The Student Her decision to attend law school, although based After graduating from Scandia Rural High School on sound rationale, was not necessarily an easy one, in 1964 as the “entire top 10 percent” of her class, however. Her trepidation in pursuing the law was ex- as Judge Tacha de- acerbated by her father’s lack of support for her career scribes it, she headed choice. According to Judge Tacha, “east” to attend col- lege at the University I applied to several law schools and got into of Kansas. Like other most of them. So, by this time, I had to inform college campuses my family and my friends that I was really think- at the time, the Uni- ing about this. And one of the hardest parts was versity of Kansas, or that my father, in particular, really resented this. KU, was undergoing He’s a man of tremendous support and encour- great reform, espe- agement but looking at it through his lens, he cially in the area of essentially thought that I was selecting a profes- women’s rights. At sional path where it would be very difficult for the forefront of this me to succeed. That was a legitimate viewpoint movement at KU was at the time. Emily Taylor, who served as the univer- Over her father’s objections, Tacha decided to sity’s dean of wom- pursue her legal education at the University of Michi- en at the time and gan, where, according to Tacha, “there were precious whom Judge Tacha few women” at the time of her enrollment. But the fondly remembers as numbers changed dramatically over the course of her an inspirational force three years there because of the decrease in the num- and early role model ber of males who might have otherwise enrolled at in her life. “We were University of Michigan’s Law School on account of the all Kansas kids,” says Vietnam War. the country’s political framework. We are not The Attorney elected. The elected branches, not the judiciary, Tacha’s decision to attend law school paid off. She establish policy. excelled at Michigan, and her efforts were rewarded when she was selected as a White House Fellow upon Back Home to Kansas graduation. Tacha’s assignment was at the Depart- Forces out of her control forced Tacha to reconsid- ment of Labor, where she served as a special assistant er where her burgeoning legal career would develop. to the department’s secretary, James D. Hodgson. At In the midst of her early success at Hogan & Hartson, the conclusion of her fellowship and before joining the law firm that has produced such alumni as Chief the Washington-based law firm of Hogan & Hartson, Justice John Roberts, love intervened in Judge Tacha’s Tacha stayed on to assist the Nixon administration plans. “So here I am practicing law in Washington at a during the 1972 election. very, very highly respected firm, and doing very well, Although Tacha shies away from offering her po- but the love of my life was in Concordia, Kansas, and litical sentiments, it is clear that politics and her ex- he wasn’t about to move to Washington, D.C.” Thanks perience in the nation’s capital have had a profound to John Tacha, the judge’s stint at Hogan & Hartson effect on her life. Tacha feels that civility in Washing- was a relatively short one. The firm’s loss, however, ton, D.C., has, to some extent, waned over the past was Concordia’s gain. few years — a development that was perhaps best For a professional who had traveled the world side reflected by the recent confirmation hearing of Justice by side with the secretary of labor and who had later Samuel Alito and by other debates surrounding the experienced the inner workings of the White House, judiciary. the journey back to Kansas was nothing short of over- whelming. While in the nation’s capital Tacha had also I think it is something to be worried about. First become somewhat of a pioneer for women’s rights in of all, I have the highest regard for the constitu- the field of law and had sought to carry on Emily Tay- tional scheme where the President has the right lor’s plea to serve as a role model for other women to nominate and the Senate has the advice and in the field of law. “I did what I did at that time with consent authority. Thus, I have enormous re- some trepidation,” says Tacha, “because when you’re spect and defer to that, but what I worry about one of the first women to have the opportunity to be in the tone and tenor of confirmation hearings with one of the big name firms and do all the kinds in recent years is that they may have given the of things I was doing, you feel that doing the personal public the wrong view about how judges make thing is troublesome for women coming along.” their decisions. When questions are asked that Unfortunately for Tacha, her concerns about return- seem to imply that a judge is making his or her ing to Kansas were not initially quelled. Concordia decision on the basis of personal opinions, that was not a hotbed for jurisprudential activity. Nor did it misleads the public, and doesn’t do a good job provide female attorneys with the same opportunities educating the public about the role of an in- that other cities like Washington did. Notwithstanding dependent judiciary. I believe that all public Tacha’s early trepidations, however, Tacha’s stint in servants in the three branches of government, Concordia was ultimately fruitful, because it offered wherever they find themselves, have a duty to her formidable training in the field of law. Some time help educate the general citizenry. When what after arriving in Concordia and finding that the job we do may give a skewed understanding to the prospects were bleak, Tacha joined forces with a solo public, I think that’s detrimental to the republic. practitioner. “I was a general practitioner in a small town. And so, literally everything that walked in off Tacha’s sentiments reflect her view of the judge’s the street, I took. It was really marvelous.” need to be a pure jurist, whose political viewpoints While in Concordia, Tacha appeared a number of are irrelevant when it comes to deciphering the facts times before Marvin Brummett, a judge whom Tacha at hand. describes as one of her principal role models. Not only did Judge Brummett embody Tacha’s concept of I’m one of those judges who believes very the ideal judge, but he also served as a model citi- strongly in sticking to the cases and the issues. zen, serving the people with honor, dignity, and class. It may be a lesson by example, that is to say, Judge Brummett “was a man of exceptional profes- judges do not make policy; judges do not do sionalism, exceptionally thoughtful temperament,” Ta- anything except interpret the law as best they cha fondly remembers. can, given the statutes, the Constitution, the reg- Now and throughout her career, when presiding ulations, and the facts relevant to the issues of over hearings, Tacha attempts to offer attorneys ap- the case before them. I think it is important for pearing before her the same respect that Judge Brum- judges to be limited in how they perform their mett showed her while she was a young attorney ap- functions so that it gives the public the proper pearing in his court, and she offers an example: understanding of the role of the judge within I was in my first contested divorce case, and I school, Tacha remembers, was as head of its legal aid had prepared and prepared and learned every- clinic.
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