Dawn N. Ison

Assistant United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison has been confirmed as the Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official of the Eastern District of Michigan. U.S. Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow announced that the United States Senate had approved Assistant U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison as the new Top Federal Prosecutor for the Eastern District of Michigan on December 14, 2021. President Joseph Biden made her nomination on November 12, 2021. Previously serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Office’s Public Corruption Unit, U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison was sworn into the highest position in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan by Chief U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood on December 21, 2021. Top Federal Prosecutor Ison takes his seat as the first African-American woman to lead one of the country’s largest U.S. Attorney’s Offices. She succeeds Saima S. Mohsin, who temporarily served as the Acting U.S. Attorney for the district following the departure of Trump-appointed former U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider on February 1, 2021.

Educational Background and Bar and Court Admissions

Top Federal Prosecutor Dawn Ison graduated Magna Cum Laude from Spelman College with a partial academic scholarship from 1983 to 1985, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in May 1986. She then received her Juris Doctorate from the Wayne State University Law School in May 1989 and was named in the Top 20 Brief Writer in Moot court. U.S. Attorney Ison was admitted into the State Bar of Michigan in the same year of her graduation from law school and was granted permission to practice in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2002 to 2004, respectively.

Legal Career of Attorney Ison

Early Legal Career

While in law school, U.S. Attorney Ison garnered experience in the legal field as a Student Attorney and later as a Litigation Supervisor at the Free Legal Aid Clinic, Inc. From May 1987 to 1988, U.S. Attorney Ison served as one of the attorneys who provided legal assistance to low income and elderly residents of the Wayne County. As a lawyer of the non-profit corporation, U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison represents individuals who may not otherwise have access to legal services in areas of family law and elder law. On top of receiving legal training and experience in the Free Legal Aid Clinic, Inc., Top Federal Prosecutor Ison simultaneously served as a Law Clerk at Gregory J. Reed & Associates from September 1987 to January 1988. Following her short stint in private practice, she began offering her services as a Student Attorney at the Misdemeanor Defender Office for Indigents, Inc. from January 1988 to May 1988. U.S. Attorney Ison also served as a Law Clerk at the Wallace K. Sagendorph, P.C. from May to August 1998 and as a Research Assistant at the Wayne State University Law School from August 1988 to May 1989.

Michigan Court of Appeals and Sole Practice

Officially launching her legal career following her admission into the State Bar of Michigan, U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison joined the Michigan Court of Appeals as a Prehearing Attorney. From August 1989 through May 1990, she was in charge of performing legal research and writing. In September 1990, Top Federal Prosecutor Dawn Ison founded her own Law Office and became a Sole Practitioner. Through September of 2002, the general nature of her legal practice then heavily focused on criminal defense while also handling probate law and domestic relations cases. As a sole practitioner, U.S. Attorney Ison’s clients were primarily indigent individuals involved in criminal cases, with many requiring representation in domestic relations and probate matters.

U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan

In the past two decades, Top Federal Prosecutor Dawn N. Ison has entirely devoted her legal career to serving in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. She was initially appointed as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in September 2002, until she was later promoted into being the Chief of the Office’s Drug Task Force Unit in May 2010. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, Top Federal Prosecutor Ison shifted her area of practice to be focused exclusively on federal criminal prosecutions. In this capacity, she has prosecuted a number of drug trafficking offenses, including complex cases in the Office’s Drug Task Force Unit. From May 2010 to January 2014, U.S. Attorney Ison handled the largest unit in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan as the Chief of the Drug Task Force Unit. Beginning in 2014, U.S. Attorney Ison became the District Election Officer for the Office, in which she became responsible for handling complaints of election fraud and voting rights concerns within the Eastern District of Michigan. Throughout her 20 years of service in the Office of the United States Attorney, Top Federal Prosecutor Ison has also been tasked to represent the Office in the federal court’s alternative to the Prison Program.

Teaching Background

During her service in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, U.S. Attorney Ison was called to be a Guest Instructor for the DEA Tashkent County Office, wherein she had to travel to Uzbekistan in November 2012. As a part of a Professional Development Program under the Uzbek Office of the Prosecutor General in their Training Center in Tashkent, U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison engaged in a two-day roundtable discussion with 18 Uzbek prosecutors discussing proactive investigation techniques, among other vital details relating to drug-centered crimes.

Honors and Awards

Provided her extensive career in criminal defense and criminal prosecution, U.S. Attorney Ison has worked on an array of cases and has successfully handled large-scale, complex, and multi-defendant prosecutions. Throughout her career, she has been duly recognized for her outstanding performance and dedication by several government agencies. Top Federal Prosecutor Ison has been awarded the Award of Appreciation for Friendship and Service by the Internal Revenue Service; and the Inspector General Award by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2018. She has also received two awards from the Department of Justice, including the National Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force Asset Forfeiture Case Award in 2007 and the National Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Outstanding Investigation Award in 2009; and three awards from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, namely the U.S. Attorney Superior Performance Award by Litigation Team in 2016, and the U.S. Attorney Outstanding Service Award in 2010 and 2019.

Most Significant Litigated Cases

Throughout her legal career, U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison has taken over 50 cases to trial as a defense attorney and prosecutor. Among her most notable litigated cases include one of the most significant drug trafficking cases in the district’s history – the prosecution of the Black Mafia Family drug trafficking organization. The case involved sixty-six defendants charged with drug trafficking and money laundering offenses, wherein U.S. Attorney Ison served as the lead counsel during the case’s prosecution. She has supervised and directed the investigation and prosecution of the case, which resulted in a 270 million dollar judgment against the Black Mafia Family leaders, along with convictions of the majority of the defendants. Top Federal Prosecutor Ison also served as a sole counsel in which two defendants were charged with kidnapping, rape, and transporting across state lines for prostitution of a 14-year-old-girl. The defendants pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of children and were sentenced accordingly.

Pro bono Work and Memberships

U.S. Attorney Ison is an exceptionally driven prosecutor who has remained engaged with the community. She has participated in Ask a Lawyer – a day-long community service event in her church, wherein she was present to provide pro bono legal advice on probate and other legal matters to the members of her community. During her law school years, U.S. Attorney Ison has been consistent with her volunteer work, serving in various non-profit organizations. In her career in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, she has handled programs that provided guidance to DPS students. Top Federal Prosecutor Ison remained an active member of the Vernon Chapel A.M.E. Church and was previously a part of the Jack and Jill of America, Inc. – Detroit Chapter. She is also involved with several associations and remains active in the Federal Bar Association for the Eastern District of Michigan as the Co-Chair of the Diversity Committee.

Office Jurisdiction

Heading of for the country’s most prominent U.S. Attorney’s Offices, Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official Dawn N. Ison leads a staff of approximately 221 personnel divided among the three branches of the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. All employees of the Office are dedicated to serving and protecting the approximately 6.5 million residents of the Eastern District of Michigan. The staffed branch offices are located in Bay City, Detroit, and Flint.

Contact Details of Attorney Dawn Ison

Full Name: Dawn Noelle Ison
District/State: Eastern District of Michigan
Public email ID: dawn.ison@usdoj.gov

Detroit Main Office

United States Attorney’s Office
211 W. Fort Street
Suite 2001
Detroit, MI 48226

(313) 226-9100
Main

(313) 226-2311
Fax

(313) 226-9560
TTD

Flint Branch Office

United States Attorney’s Office
210 Federal Building
600 Church Street
Flint, MI 48502

(810) 766-5177
Main

(810) 766-5427
Fax

(810) 766-5100
TTD

Bay City Branch Office

United States Attorney’s Office
101 First Street
Suite 200
Bay City, MI 48708

(989) 895-5712
Main

(989) 895-5790
Fax

(989) 895-2501
TTD

Public Information Officer

Gina Balaya
United States Attorney’s Office
211 W. Fort Street
Detroit, MI

(313) 226-9758
Main

Social Media Profiles of State’s Attorney Noelle Ison

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Updated: March 26, 2023