John Smietanka

John Smietanka (born June 28, 1941, in Chicago) was the prosecutor for Berrien County, Michigan, from 1974 to 1981, and a United States Attorney in Western Michigan, appointed by Ronald Reagan, from 1981 until 1994.

Notable cases that Smietanka handled in the U.S. Attorney's office include the disappearance of West German freight ship captain Fredrich Helling in Lake Michigan, an investigation into sales of orange juice, and a major Chicago gang prosecution which fell apart amid accusations of inappropriate favors given to prosecution witnesses. Smiteanka also worked with Michigan Attorney General Frank J. Kelley to prosecute state representative Stephen Shepich and other people connected with fraud in the Michigan House Fiscal Agency.

The United States Attorney General's office gave him an award for outstanding service in 1989 and for distinguished service in 1993, and the John Marshall Law School (Chicago) honored him as a distinguished alumnus in 1986.

On January 24, 1992, President George H. W. Bush nominated Smietanka to be a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. However, with the Democrats controlling the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Smietanka's nomination languished, and it lapsed with the end of Bush's presidency. President Bill Clinton did not renominate Smietanka to the Sixth Circuit.

In 1994 and 1998,Smietanka was the Republican candidate for Michigan Attorney General, but lost in both years to his opponents. In 1998 he lost to Jennifer Granholm.

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