Margaret M. Chiara is most notable for serving as

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Western District of Michigan. A Republican, she served from 2001 until she was dismissed in the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy on March 16, 2007. She had been Michigan's first female U.S. attorney

Early career

Chiara received her undergraduate degree from Fordham University, a Master's degree from

Pace University Pace University is a private university with its main campus in New York City and secondary campuses in Westchester County, New York. It was established in 1906 by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace as a business school. Pace ...

and her J.D. from

Rutgers University Law School Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public university, public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the ...

. For twelve years she was a teacher and educational administrator, with a masters in administration from

and an undergraduate degree is from Fordham University. Her interest in education law and school finance reform led to

Rutgers Law School Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...

. Chiara was an associate with French and Lawrence, a private law firm, in

Cassopolis, Michigan Cassopolis is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Cass County. It is located mostly in LaGrange Township with a small portion extending east into Penn Township. The village and county are named after statesman Lewi ...

from 1979 to 1982. Subsequently, she was twice elected Cass County Prosecutor, and was the first woman elected to serve as president of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan (PAAM). From 1987 to 1998, she was Administrator of the Trial Court Assessment Commission. Then in 1999, Ms. Chiara joined the staff of the Office of the Chief Justice at the

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the sta ...

as the Policy and Planning Director.

Career as U.S. Attorney and dismissal

Ms. Chiara was nominated to the position of

on September 4, 2001, by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

to succeed

Michael Dettmer Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

. Chiara was unanimously confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on October 23, 2001. On March 23, 2007, the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that Chiara was told by a senior Justice Department official that she was being removed to make way for a new attorney that the Bush administration wanted to groom. "To say it was about politics may not be pleasant, but at least it is truthful," Chiara said. "Poor performance was not a truthful explanation." AP reported that during her tenure, "the jurisdiction has seen a 15 percent increase in felony prosecutions and convictions. She developed an attorney training and mentoring program that now serves as a national model, her office said."

References

External links

*, January 11, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chiara, Margaret Living people Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy 1956 births United States Attorneys for the Western District of Michigan American women lawyers