Copyright M Live Michigan
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – John Smietanka, who served as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan before starting a private practice that included representing defendants in high-profile cases, believed everyone deserved to be heard. “Everybody was entitled to a fair shake,” retired FBI special agent Gene Debbaudt said. “He was so fair with his clients. He would go out of his way to explain things. The ultimate professional, and just a kind, gentle person,” Debbaudt told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Smietanka, who lived in Stevensville in Berrien County, died Tuesday, Oct. 28, surrounded by his family at Corewell Health Lakeland Hospital in St. Joseph. He was 84. He worked with his father, Allan, in Chicago for two years after passing the bar in 1969. He moved to Michigan where he served as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Berrien County from 1971 to 1974. He then served as the county prosecutor from 1974 to 1981. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated Smietanka to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan. He also served for four years under President George H.W. Bush and two years under President Bill Clinton, leaving in 1994. During his years as U.S. Attorney, his office and Department of Justice Civil Rights attorneys prosecuted House of Judah cult leaders. ‘This is Auschwitz in Allegan,’ he once told MLive. He also helped prosecute violent gangs in Chicago under special assignment. As a private attorney, he and attorney Anne Buckleitner worked to free Larry Souter, who was convicted in 1991 of second-degree murder in the 1979 death of Kristy Ringler, 19, near White Cloud. A judge freed Souter after he served 13 years of a 20- to 60-year prison sentence. Both Smietanka and Debbaudt, as a private investigator, were asked to advise the defense in the “Baby Kate” trial in Ludington where Sean Michael Phillips was convicted of second-degree murder in the case of his missing infant daughter. Debbaudt said Smietanka sought justice whether serving as prosecutor or defense attorney. Smietanka could talk to anyone about anything, a skill he showcased on his radio show, “With Respect,” on WSJM-FM 94.9. Debbaudt loved to work with Smietanka but said he knew him as a great friend. “I’m gonna miss him. I’m really gonna miss the guy.”
