Dexter Lehtinen

American attorney, politician

Dexter Lehtinen

Lehtinen in 1980

United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida
In office
June 1988 – January 1992
President| Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Preceded by| Leon Kellner
Succeeded by| James McAdams (Acting), Roberto Martinez
Member of the Florida Senate
from the 40th district
In office
November 4, 1986 – June 11, 1988
Preceded by| Roberta Fox
Succeeded by| Javier Souto
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
In office
November 4, 1980 – November 4, 1986
Preceded by| Charlie Hall[1]
Succeeded by| Robert J. Starks
Constituency| 116th district (1980–1982)
118th district (1982–1986)
Personal details
Born|

Dexter Wayne Lehtinen

(1946-03-23) March 23, 1946 (age 79)
Homestead, Florida, U.S.[2]
Political party| Republican (1985–present)
Other political
affiliations| Democratic (1980–1985)
Spouse(s)| Donna L. Stevenson (divorced)

Ileana Ros

(m. 1984)​

Children| 4, including Rodrigo Lehtinen
Alma mater| University of Miami
(B.A., 1968)
Columbia University
(MA; MBA, 1974)
Stanford Law School (1975)
Profession| Attorney

Dexter Wayne Lehtinen (/ˈleɪtənən/ LAY-tən-ən; born March 23, 1946) is an American attorney, former politician, interim U.S. Attorney for south Florida, and a law instructor. He is the husband of former U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

## Early life and education

[edit]

Lehtinen is of Finnish ancestry. He graduated from the University of Miami in 1968 magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He then graduated with an MA from Columbia University and an MBA in 1974. In 1975, he graduated first in his class from Stanford Law School. At the University of Miami, he was the Commander of the Corps of Cadets, president of the Florida Federation of College Republicans, and was inducted into the Iron Arrow Honor Society, the highest owner bestowed at the university.[3]

He joined the United States Army as an officer. He received a Purple Heart in 1971 for severe facial injuries during the Vietnam War.[2][4]

## Florida legislature

[edit]

Dexter Lehtinen, Celia Cruz, Alonso R. del Portillo, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Pedro Knight, May 1992

In 1980, Lehtinen ran against incumbent Democratic State Representative Gene Flinn in a multi-member southwest Dade County district. Lehtinen came in first in the Democratic primary, garnering 44% of the vote against Flinn and another candidate.[5] In the September primary runoff, Lehtinen defeated Flinn, 64 to 36%.[5] In the general election, he narrowly defeated Republican nominee Chris Ferrer with 51.3% of the vote.[6] In 1982, he won reelection in the newly redrawn 118th district—encompassing parts of rural southwestern Dade and areas stretching from Homestead to Richmond Heights—with 65%.[7] In 1984, he won reelection unopposed.

In February 1985, he left the Democratic Party to become a Republican. This was only a few months before he married Republican State Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Lehtinen and his wife were both elected in 1986 to the Florida Senate; he was elected in District 40—which included large parts of western and southwestern Dade, including parts of Coral Gables—and she was elected in neighboring District 34.[2][8]

## U.S. Attorney for South Florida

[edit]

In June 1988, Lehtinen resigned his Florida Senate seat after U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese took a "high-risk gamble"[9] in naming him to succeed Leon Kellner as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.[10][11][12][13][14][15] His three biggest cases during his 3 ½ year tenure were the cases of former Panama leader Manuel Noriega,[16][17][18] religious sect leader Yahweh ben Yahweh,[19] and Hialeah Mayor Raúl L. Martínez.[20]

The U.S. Senate refused to act on his nomination and Lehtinen on January 13, 1992, called a news conference to announce his resignation.[21] Lehtinen said his departure had nothing to do with a well-publicized internal Justice Department investigation of him because of the Martinez case.[22][23][24][25][26] The Justice Department opened a case against Lehtinen on charges of misconduct and potential conflicts of interest for investigating "a potential political rival of his wife."[27][28][29][30][31]

## Post U.S. Attorney career

[edit]

Lehtinen served as the general counsel for the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida Indians[32] until May 2010.[33] In November 2011, the same tribe filed a lawsuit against Lehtinen for alleged malpractice regarding tax advice. In return, Lehtinen filed suit and received judgment against the Tribe.[34] He also served as an adjunct instructor at University of Miami School of Law and at Florida International University.

## Personal life

[edit]

Lehtinen married then-Florida State Representative Ileana Ros on June 9, 1984, while they were both serving in the Florida House of Representatives. They have two children, Rodrigo and Patricia Marie. He was previously married to Donna L. Stevenson and had two children with her, Katharine Natasha and Douglas Hooper.[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "House of Representatives". Archived from the original on January 13, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2022 - via Wayback Machine.
2. ^ a b c d 86-88 Senate Handbook.qxd
3. ^ "Arrow Heads," Miami magazine, Fall 2000
4. ^ The Miami Herald; U.S. Attorney Dexter Lehtinen Fought In Vietnam. But Did He Win His Battle?; February 25, 1990, Page 1G
5. ^ a b "Our Campaigns - FL State House 116 - D Primary Race - Sep 09, 1980".
6. ^ "Our Campaigns - FL District 116 Race - Nov 04, 1980".
7. ^ "Our Campaigns - FL State House 118 Race - Nov 02, 1982".
8. ^ The Miami Herald; Senator called A Brainy Tough Guy; June 11, 1988, Page 1A
9. ^ The Miami Herald; A High-Risk Candidate; June 14, 1988, Page 14A
10. ^ The Miami Herald; Possible Candidates Emerge For U.S. Attorney; May 12, 1988, Page 1D
11. ^ El Nuevo Herald; Lehtinen; Un Nuevo Estilo; August 30, 1989, Page 1B
12. ^ The Miami Herald; Tyrant Or Target?; February 24, 1991, Page 8
13. ^ The Washington Post; Between Politics and Professionalism: One Prosecutor's Tenure and Tactics Series: The Appearance of Justice; January 14, 1993
14. ^ The Miami Herald; Bush Said To Be Ready To Nominate Lehtinen After 20-Month Delay; February 28, 1990, Page 1A
15. ^ The Miami Herald; Source: Lehtinen Was A Ticklish Political Problem; January 19, 1992, Page 1B
16. ^ The Los Angeles Times; Noriega's Lawyers Seek Dismissal of U.S. Drug-Trafficking Charges; Sep 16, 1988, Page 8
17. ^ San Jose Mercury News; LEHTINEN'S EXPLOSIVE TEMPER WAS CALLED A LIABILITY TO THE NORIEGA PROSECUTION FLORIDA PROSECUTOR HITS SNAG; January 19, 1990, Page 3A
18. ^ The Washington Post; The Case of Noriega's Prosecutor In Miami, the Very Public Slide of Dexter Lehtinen; February 7, 1990
19. ^ The Miami Herald; NORIEGA, YAHWEH CASES SHAPE LEHTINEN LEGACY; January 14, 1992, Page 4A
20. ^ The Miami Herald; Witness Hints At Politics Behind Martinez Probe; February 15, 1991, Page 1B
21. ^ The Miami Herald; Top-Level Report Forced Lehtinen From U.S. Post Prosecutor Negotiated Details of His Departure; January 16, 1992, Page 1A
22. ^ The Miami Herald; San Pedro Cleared of Lying To Jury; November 30, 1991, Page 1B
23. ^ The Miami Herald; POLITICS FUELED PROBE, MARTINEZ LAWYERS SAY; November 3, 1990, Page 1B
24. ^ The Miami Herald; IS MARTINEZ AN EXTORTIONIST OR JUST A VICTIM OF POLITICS?; March 22, 1996, Page 2B
25. ^ The Miami Herald; RECORDS CONTRADICT LEHTINEN ACCUSATIONS AGAINST PROSECUTOR; April 6, 1990, Page 1A
26. ^ The Miami Herald; Lehtinen Didn’t Target Martinez, Witness Says Cardoso Backs Away From Testimony; February 20, 1991, Page 1B
27. ^ 1/21/08 - "Neither Lehtinen nor Ros Lehtinen responded to Herald phone calls for comment" (The Miami Herald)
28. ^ 2/17/91-"Timing of investigation raises questions about 'the motivation of the prosecution'" (The Miami Herald)
29. ^ 2/17/91 - "Lehtinen declined to comment about the timing of the investigation." (The Miami Herald)
30. ^ 2/15/91 – "Lehtinen wanted to neutralize Martinez as a political rival of his wife, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen" (The Miami Herald)
31. ^ 4/20/90 – "Justice Investigating Miami U.S. Attorney for Misconduct" (The Miami Herald)
32. ^ Seminole Tribune; Aiming For A Compact; November 20, 1998
33. ^ Stapleton, Christine (May 14, 2010). "Former U.S. Attorney Lehtinen steps down as Miccosukee Everglades lawyer". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved November 20, 2010.
34. ^ Weaver, Jay (November 29, 2011). "Miccosukee Indians sue their ex-lawyer, Dexter Lehtinen, for malpractice". Miami Herald. Retrieved November 30, 2011.

## External links

[edit]

Florida House of Representatives

Preceded by

Gene Flinn

|  Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 116th district
1980–1982  | Succeeded by

Art Simon

Preceded by

Charlie Hall

|  Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 118th district
1982–1986  | Succeeded by

Bob Starks

Florida Senate
Preceded by

Roberta F. Fox

|  Member of the Florida Senate
from the 40th district
1986–1988  | Succeeded by

Javier Souto

Legal offices
Preceded by

Leon Kellner

|  United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida
1988–1992  | Succeeded by

Roberto Martinez
*[m.]: married