Former Ingham County prosecutor Donald Martin has died from leukemia. He was 71.
The Lansing State Journal reports that Martin was hired as an assistant Ingham prosecutor in 1967:
In 1970, he was promoted to chief assistant prosecutor. He resigned in 1973 and went into private practice. In 1986, Martin was appointed interim county prosecutor after Peter Houk was named to the circuit court. Later that year, Martin was elected to serve the last two years of Houk’s term. Martin won re-election in 1988 and 1992, and ended up serving as prosecutor for 10 years.
In 1996, Martin lost his bid for a third term to Stuart Dunnings III, the current Ingham County prosecutor, shortly after Martin’s unsuccessful manslaughter prosecution of a Lansing doctor who removed his premature child from life support.
Martin then joined the Lansing law firm of Foster, Swift Collins and Smith, where he practiced in the areas of criminal law, white-collar crime and domestic relations.
He earned his J.D. from Valparaiso University School of Law in 1967, and was a 1964 graduate of Capital University.
He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, and three sons.
The Michigan Lawyer 