Michelle Carmon

Background

About Michelle Carmon

I am a passionate and motivated advocate for criminal legal system reform. I am a prosecutor working in felony treatment court in Queens County as part of the District Attorney’s Rehabilitation Programs and Restorative Services Bureau. I started my legal career as a paralegal and clerical assistant at a civil legal aid office in Raleigh, NC. My experiences representing disabled clients under the supervision of the dedicated attorneys of Legal Aid of North Carolina inspired me to go to law school. After I graduated, I accepted a position as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan with the goal of representing the interests of victims of crime, while exercising fairness and extending compassion to those who caused harm. Over the course of my four years at DANY, I did my best to live up to those ideals, while experiencing firsthand how prosecutors contribute to mass incarceration and racial inequity. I transitioned to the Office of the Bronx District Attorney in 2018 to join the growing Alternatives to Incarceration Bureau, later renamed to the Community Justice Bureau in 2021. My primary focus and area of interest was restorative justice, from my work to successfully expand our pre-arraignment diversion program to my work with Common Justice. I also developed subject matter proficiency in drug court best practices and I routinely staffed the office’s specialty courts, including the mental health, substance use, and veterans’ treatment courts. In July 2022, I started a public policy role as a senior project manager with the Center for Justice Innovation. My role involved providing technical assistance and supporting original research projects on a variety of criminal legal system reform issues. I also completed a masters-level professional certificate program in restorative justice through Vermont Law and Graduate School. In May 2025, the federal government canceled the grants that funded my work at the Center and my role was eliminated in subsequent layoffs. In June 2025, I started my current role as the felony Assistant District Attorney in the Rehabilitation Programs and Restorative Services Bureau in Queens County. I am once again working to support individuals facing criminal charges to stay in their communities and connect with the mental health, substance use, and other services they need to thrive. In my spare time, I enjoy indie video games, hydroponic gardening, reading, and spending time with my cat, Miso.