The Most Important Atlantan You May Never Know

“There’s a new sheriff in town,” and he’s not playing.

U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg (aka, “Teddy”) has broken the record on cases filed, even as he’s being asked to do more with fewer employees. As U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Hertzberg works on behalf of 7.5 million Georgians in a 46-county area. He and his staff prosecute Federal crimes and litigate civil cases in which the government is a party.

Atlanta Chief of Police Darin Schierbaum told the AJT, “Teddy was engaged on day one, attending meetings, collaborating on our safety, how we can work as a team … He is there on the front lines, and he’s very principled.”

And, yes, he’s proud to be Jewish. Hertzberg wears a Ten Commandments medallion around his neck; and on his wall is a woodcut depicting (in Hebrew) the instruction of Micah 6:8 to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.”

This reporter left his office with a challenge coin with the Hebrew text of Deuteronomy 16:20 — “Justice, Justice, you shall pursue”—encircling a Department of Justice eagle.

Local Jewish attorney and author Kent Alexander also served in this capacity. He said, “Hertzberg has a strong professional background. The first U.S. attorney in Georgia was appointed in 1789; the year Congress enacted the Judiciary Act. Since then, I’m pretty sure Teddy and I have been the only Jewish U.S. attorneys in the Northern District. So, we’re a proud fraternity of two.”

Committed to ensuring the administration of criminal justice is “fast, firm, and fair,” Hertzberg recently appeared on the front page of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution touting how he’s avoiding politics and focusing on public safety.

Get to know him here:

Jaffe: How does a young man growing up in a liberal Democrat family become a Republican?
Hertzberg: I grew up on Long Island. My parents often brought me into New York City to visit museums, watch shows, and hunt for antiques. In the early 1990s, the city was a frightening place. I remember being accosted by “squeegee men” and panhandlers. The streets were filthy, and the murder rate was out of control. Poor leadership and callous indifference to antisemitism led to the Crown Heights pogrom. But Rudy Giuliani cleaned up the city, and George Pataki brought capital punishment back to fight crime. So, as a teenager, I associated the Republican party with law enforcement, public safety, and justice.

Jaffe: How does someone your age, 43, become the U.S. attorney?
Hertzberg: I received a phone call last April asking if I would be interested in being appointed to lead the office on an interim basis. After interviews with Department of Justice leadership, West Wing staff, and ultimately, President Trump, I was given that opportunity. When my initial term expired in September, the Federal district judges voted to keep me in place.

Jaffe: You still try cases?
Hertzberg: Because we are short-staffed, and because I love being in the courtroom, I still carry a caseload.

Jaffe: You know about the Deep South from your clerkship in Alabama?
Hertzberg: As a New Yorker who attended college in Massachusetts and law school in Manhattan, I knew little of the South until I secured a clerkship with a Federal judge in Mobile. I thought of my clerkship like students may think of a semester abroad in Australia — I could learn a lot and experience a different culture in a place where the people kind of speak English. What I realized about the South was that, relative to New York, the weather was better, the people were nicer, and the cost of living was lower. I found the Jewish community very welcoming. Even after I returned to New York, the Conservative rabbi from Mobile officiated at my wedding.

Jaffe: You were appointed by Pam Bondi, U.S. attorney general. How do you stay out of politics?
Hertzberg: My position is apolitical. I am committed to working with my law enforcement partners to keep the community safe and hold wrongdoers accountable. That’s not a partisan endeavor.

Jaffe: How did your father, a lifelong New Yorker, write a history of Jews in Atlanta?
Hertzberg: As a young academic in the 1970s, my father wrote, “Strangers Within the Gate City: The Jews of Atlanta 1845-1915,” which examined Jewish life in Atlanta from the Antebellum period through the lynching of Leo Frank. When I moved to Atlanta, my dad gave me a copy of his book and inscribed it: “To Teddy, My smart, honorable and loving son. No father could be more proud. Now, go write your own chapter.” I’m doing just that.

Jaffe: What’s the most bizarre case you ever handled?
Hertzberg: Approximately 30 years ago, a Savannah man demanded that a urologist remove his penis although there was nothing physically wrong with it. The urologist refused, prompting the man to threaten to kill the urologist. The man was imprisoned but continued to make threats after getting out. After a second stint in Federal prison, the man violated his conditions of release. In 2016, I was tasked with handling proceedings to imprison the man a third time. While in custody, he sent a letter threatening to murder me, and the Court added 10 years to his sentence.

Jaffe: What’s next for you? Run for Georgia governor?
Hertzberg: I don’t think my wife would let me, even if I wanted to, which I don’t. I enjoy the practice of law. My past, present and future are in the courtroom.