Joseph Tartakovsky

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Joseph Tartakovsky
Tartakovsky in 2018
Deputy Solicitor General of Nevada
In office
2015–2018
Attorney GeneralAdam Paul Laxalt
Preceded byPosition created
Succeeded byJordan T. Smith
Personal details
Born (1981-12-10) December 10, 1981 (age 42)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Santa Barbara (BA)
Fordham Law School (JD)

Joseph Tartakovsky (/frʌm/; born December 10, 1981) is an American lawyer, writer, and historian, and the former Deputy Solicitor General of Nevada. Tartakovsky is presently an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California in San Francisco where he prosecutes criminal cases.

He is the author two books: The Lives of the Constitution: Ten Exceptional Minds that Shaped America’s Supreme Law (2018)[1] and No Way Home: The Crisis of Homelessness and How to Fix It with Intelligence and Humanity (2021). His book, The Lives of the Constitution, became a #1 bestseller on Amazon.com in the three areas: constitutional law, legal history, and legal biography.

His writings have appeared in publications that include the New York Times,[2][3] Wall Street Journal,[4][5][6] the Los Angeles Times,[7][8][9] and Forbes.[10] He has been a guest on C-SPAN's Washington Journal.[11] C-SPAN's Book TV featured a book release event for The Lives of the Constitution in Washington, D.C.[12]

A video featuring Tartakovsky and based on his book's chapter on Alexander Hamilton, filmed by PragerU, has received over 1.6 million views on YouTube.[13]

Career history[edit]

Joseph Tartakovsky served as a law clerk to Judge Paul K. Kelly, Jr., of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He was an associate at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLC, an international law firm, in San Francisco, where he practiced in criminal defense and civil litigation.

Magazine editor[edit]

At the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy, he was a Contributing Editor at the Claremont Review of Books and later the James Wilson Fellow in Constitutional Law.[14]

Nevada Deputy Solicitor General[edit]

In 2015, he was appointed Nevada's first Deputy Solicitor General[15] by Adam Laxalt. He served until 2018. In that position he helped oversee Nevada's legal strategy for major litigation in state and federal courts, and advised the Nevada Attorney General and Nevada Governor on matters of statewide importance.

He also helped handle Nevada's docket in the United States Supreme Court and other appeals courts. He has argued and litigated cases on a variety of issues that include education,[16] public lands, free speech,[17] ERISA,[18] gun background checks, and elections. He argued numerous appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Nevada Supreme Court. He has been counsel of record in the United States Supreme Court.[19]

Private practice and author[edit]

Tartakovsky speaking at a 2020 Pacific Research Institute conference

In 2018, his book, The Lives of the Constitution: Ten Exceptional Minds that Shaped America's Supreme Law, was published.

Tartakovsky later returned to the appellate and constitutional practice at the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in San Francisco, where he practiced constitutional law. While there, he was part of the team challenging, before the U.S. Supreme Court, the decision in Martin v. Boise, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that held that anti-camping laws, under certain circumstances, violate the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause.[20] The decision remains the subject of debate in cities across the West.[21][22][23]

In 2019 he was named the Pacific Research Institute's Adjunct Fellow in Legal Studies.[24]

In March 2021, he contributed to the book, No Way Home: The Crisis of Homelessness and How to Fix It with Intelligence and Humanity, as one of four co-authors.[25]

Federal prosecutor[edit]

As a federal prosecutor, he has handled cases involving drug trafficking,[26][27] firearms,[28] cyberstalking,[29] theft of endangered species, embezzlement,[30] and child sexual exploitation,[31] among other offenses.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Lives of the Constitution". Encounter Books. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  2. ^ Tartakovsky, Joseph (6 February 2012). "Dickens vs. Lawyers". New York Times. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  3. ^ Tartakovsky, Joseph (28 March 2009). "Pun for the Ages". New York Times. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  4. ^ Tartakovsky, Joseph (2 July 2008). "In Praise of Political Insults". Wall Street Journal. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  5. ^ Tartakovsky, Joseph (7 October 2008). "Oval Objects of Desire". Wall Street Journal. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  6. ^ Tartakovsky, Joseph (2 July 2018). "The Culture that Sustains America's Constitution". Wall Street Journal. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  7. ^ "A muse in the bottle". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Vodka, elixir of the masses". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  9. ^ "An enlightened California judge paved the way to fight Trump's travel ban more than a century ago". Los Angeles Times. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  10. ^ "Math Wrath". Forbes. Forbe. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Joseph Tartakovsky on Key Figures Who Shaped the Constitution". C-Span. C-Span. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Joseph Tartakovsky on Key Figures Who Shaped the Constitution". C-Span. C-SPAN's Book TV. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Hamilton: The Man Who Invented America". YouTube. PragerU. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  14. ^ "Joseph Tartakovsky". Claremont Institute. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  15. ^ "Attorney General top staff now Nevada lawyers". Nevada Appeal. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  16. ^ "Nevada's New Educational Savings Account" (PDF). Educate Nevada Now. Office of Attorney General, State of Nevada. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Moonin v. Tice" (PDF). USCourts.gov. United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  18. ^ "Glazing Health v. Chambers" (PDF). USCourts.gov. United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  19. ^ "Davila v. Davis, Brief of the State of Nevada and 29 States as Amici Curiae in Support of Respondent" (PDF). Scotusblog. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  20. ^ "City of Boise, Idaho v. Martin". Scotusblog. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  21. ^ "Supreme Court decision on homeless case is a blow to cities wanting more policing powers". Los Angeles Times. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  22. ^ "How a federal court ruling on Boise's homeless camping ban has rippled across the west". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  23. ^ "Homeless people could lose the right to sleep on sidewalks if Western cities have their way". Los Angeles Times. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  24. ^ "Joseph Tartakovsky". Pacific Research Institute. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  25. ^ Jackson, Kerry; Rufo, Christopher F.; Tartakovsky, Joseph; Winegarden, Wayne (2021). No way home: the crisis of homelessness and how to fix it with intelligence and humanity (First American ed.). New York London: Encounter Books. ISBN 9781641771641.
  26. ^ "Northern District of California | San Francisco Drug Dealer Sentenced To More Than 13 Years In Prison | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. 2022-09-30. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  27. ^ "Northern District of California | Tenderloin Drug Dealer Sentenced To 46 Months For Fentanyl Sales | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. 2022-06-08. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  28. ^ "Northern District of California | San Francisco Resident Sentenced To Six Years In Prison For Possession Of Guns, Ammunition, And Drugs | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  29. ^ "Northern District of California | Former San Francisco Resident Sentenced To More Than Three Years In Prison For Multi-Year Campaign Of Cyberstalking | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  30. ^ "Northern District of California | Accountant Charged With Defrauding Two Marin Car Dealerships Of $1.7 Million | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. 2022-02-22. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  31. ^ "Northern District of California | San Francisco Daycare Center Employee Charged With Possession Of Child Pornography | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2023-03-14.