Joel Gerber (July 16, 1940 – March 4, 2022) was an American judge of the

United States Tax Court The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a Federal judiciary of the United States, federal trial court court of record, of record established by US Congress, Congress under Article One of the United States Constitution, Article ...

. Gerber received his B.S. in

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

from

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university enrolls arou ...

in 1962 and his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

in 1965. He then rose through the ranks in the U.S. Treasury Department,

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

, between 1965 and 1984, beginning as a

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

attorney for the service in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and working for various stints in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Early in this tenure, in 1968, he also earned an

LL.M. A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

Taxation A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal person, legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to Pigouvian tax, regulate and reduce nega ...

from

Boston University Law School The Boston University School of Law (BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a Private university, private research university in Boston. Established in 1872, it is the third-oldest law school in New England, after Harvard Law School and ...

and lectured in law at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, 1976–80. Gerber would ultimately become Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service, from May 1983 to March 1984. Gerber was appointed by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

as Judge of the United States Tax Court, on June 18, 1984, for a term ending June 17, 1999. He served as Senior Judge on recall performing judicial duties until reappointed on December 15, 2000, for a term ending December 14, 2015. He was elected as Chief Judge for a two-year term effective June 1, 2004. Gerber stepped down as Chief Judge effective May 31, 2006, and assumed senior status. Gerber retired on July 16, 2020. He died on March 4, 2022, at the age of 81.

Background

*Admitted to the Illinois Bar, 1965; Georgia Bar, 1974; Tennessee Bar, 1978. *Recipient of a Presidential Meritorious Rank Award, 1983; Secretary of the Treasury's Exceptional Service Award, 1984.

Attribution

Material on this page was copied from th
website of the United States Tax Court
, which is published by a United States government agency, and is therefore in the

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References

1940 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American judges Boston University School of Law alumni DePaul University College of Law alumni Judges of the United States Tax Court Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Illinois lawyers Tennessee lawyers Roosevelt University alumni United States Article I federal judges appointed by Ronald Reagan United States Article I federal judges appointed by Bill Clinton Vanderbilt University Law School faculty {{Illinois-bio-stub