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 member ...

and the St. Joseph County, Indiana, prosecutor.

Early life

Dvorak was born October 24, 1948, in

South Bend South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. Dvorak earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

in 1970. He earned a

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 Western State College of Law in 1975. He was admitted to the

State Bar of California The State Bar of California is an administrative division of the Supreme Court of California which licenses attorneys and regulates the practice of law in California. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law ...

in 1975 and the Indiana State Bar Association in 1977.

Career

Dvorak served as a deputy

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

Modesto Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the 19th-most populous city in California. Modesto is locate ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, 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, Belgium, Hungary and Si ...

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

, but lost a four-way

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

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 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.

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, who had been accused of

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

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 The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. 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 ...

. 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 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dvorak, Michael 1948 births Living people 20th-century members of the Indiana General Assembly 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century members of the Indiana General Assembly 21st-century Roman Catholics American prosecutors American Roman Catholics Catholics from Indiana Democratic Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives Indiana lawyers Loyola University Chicago alumni People from Granger, Indiana Politicians from South Bend, Indiana Western State University College of Law alumni