Michael A. Dvorak (born October 24, 1948) is an American lawyer and politician who formerly served as an

Indiana State Representative The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House membe ...

and the

St. Joseph County, Indiana St. Joseph County, commonly called St. Joe County by residents, is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 272,912, making it the fifth-most populous county in Indiana. Formed in 1830, it was n ...

prosecutor.

Early life

Dvorak was born October 24, 1948 in

South Bend South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. Dvorak earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

in 1970. He earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

Western State College of Law Western State College of Law at Westcliff University is a private, for-profit law school in Irvine, California. It offers full and part-time programs and is approved by the American Bar Association. Western State pays a fee to receive servic ...

in 1975. He was admitted to the

State Bar of California The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...

in 1975 and the

Indiana State Bar Association The Indiana State Bar Association (ISBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of Indiana. Unlike some state bar associations, in which membership is mandatory, ISBA membership is not required of lawyers licensed to practice in Indiana. Th ...

in 1977.

Career

Dvorak served as a deputy

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

Modesto Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

from 1975 through 1977. He worked in private legal practice from 1977 through 2002. He also worked as a

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...

from 1977 through 1986. In 1984, Dvorak ran for the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

nomination for the 8th district seat in the

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House memb ...

, but lost a four-way

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

State representative

In 1986, Dvorak ran again for the 8th district seat in the Indiana House of Representatives, this time succeeding in securing the Democratic Nomination. Dvorak defeated three-term

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbent Lloyd Taylor in the general election. His victory was considered an upset. Dvorak left office in 2002, being succeeded by his son

Ryan Dvorak Ryan Michael Dvorak is an American politician from the state of Indiana. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Dvorak is a member of the Indiana House of Representatives, representing the 8th District since 2002. ...

St. Joseph County prosecutor

Dvorak successfully ran for St. Joseph County prosecutor in 2002, defeating Republican incumbent Chris Toth. Dvorak was sworn-in in 2003. On December 16, 2010, Dvorak announced that he would not to file any criminal charges against

Prince Shembo Prince Shembo (born December 24, 1991) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame. High school career Prince attended ...

, who had been accused of

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

by Lizzy Seeberg nine days prior to her suicide. In 2015, Dvorak opted against seeking reelection. Democratic nominee Ken Cotter, a longtime staffer of Dvorak, was elected to succeed him.

Personal life

Dvorak is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. Dvorak and his wife Kathleen had eight children, Ryan, Todd, Sean, Brett, Carrie, Brady, Casey, and Tyler. For decades, Dvorak has resided in

Granger, Indiana Granger is a census-designated place (CDP) in Clay and Harris townships, St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 30,465 at the 2010 census. Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation and the South Bend Community School Co ...

. In 1980, Dvorak began a decades-long involvement as a Michiana Soccer Association youth

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

coach. Dvorak has served as president of the Quail Valley Homeowners Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dvorak, Michael Democratic Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives American prosecutors American Roman Catholics People from Granger, Indiana People from South Bend, Indiana 1948 births Loyola University Chicago alumni Western State University College of Law alumni Indiana lawyers Living people