The Honorable Matthew D’Emic

The Honorable Matthew D’Emic has spent almost three decades dedicating his career to supporting people with behavioral health needs, including as presiding judge for the Brooklyn Mental Health Court—the first of its kind in New York state—since its inception in 2002. He also acts as administrative judge for criminal matters for the Kings County Supreme Court where he has advocated for gender-responsive services, including as chair of the Gender Fairness Committee and as a member of the New York State Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts. He has promoted systemic criminal justice reform as part of Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice Task Force and as a member of the National Judicial Task Force to Examine State Courts’ Response to Mental Illness. In each of these roles, Judge D’Emic has striven to meaningfully address inequities in the nation’s justice system, but it is through his day-to-day work in the Mental Health Court that he has most tirelessly promoted diversion