DA Melinda Katz
Melinda Katz became the Queens County District Attorney in January 2020, making history as the first woman elected to the office. She was re-elected to a second term in November 2023.
District Attorney Katz leads an office dedicated to fairness, public safety and equal justice for the diverse communities of Queens — the most diverse county in the United States. Under her leadership, the office works to ensure that defendants are treated fairly while protecting the people who live, work and visit the borough.
Throughout her tenure, District Attorney Katz has prioritized removing illegal guns from the streets, prosecuting violent gangs, dismantling organized retail theft operations and holding fraudsters accountable. At the same time, she has strengthened efforts to support victims of domestic violence and human trafficking and expanded the office’s ability to solve decades-old cold cases.
The District Attorney established a Crime Strategies and Intelligence Bureau to address emerging threats such as ghost guns and 3-D printed firearms. Since 2021, Queens has accounted for the largest share of ghost gun recoveries in New York City. Her Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau targets the drivers of violence in the borough, including street gangs, narcotics distribution networks and illegal firearms traffickers. In November 2025, the bureau partnered with the NYPD on the largest takedown of a single gang in Queens history, resulting in a 97-count indictment against 32 alleged members of the Bad-Co Ballout gang connected to multiple shootings in Southeast Queens.
District Attorney Katz established a Cold Case Unit to solve the borough’s oldest and most challenging homicide cases. In January 2026, the unit successfully prosecuted a defendant for the strangling death of 15-year-old Nadine Slade in May 1992 in Far Rockaway. The office’s Human Trafficking Bureau – the first of its kind in the city – uses a range of strategies and resources to find exploiters who engage in sex and labor trafficking.
Committed to supporting victims and strengthening community trust, District Attorney Katz launched a 24/7 Domestic Violence Helpline that connects survivors with safety planning and resources. She also created the Queens Community Violence Prevention Project, which has provided over $5 million in grant funding to 43 local organizations working to reduce violence and improve neighborhood safety.
On her first day in office, District Attorney Katz established a Conviction Integrity Unit to review credible claims of actual innocence or wrongful conviction. The unit has since vacated multiple convictions where new evidence or fundamental errors were identified.
District Attorney Katz began her more than three decades of public service in 1994 when she was elected to the New York State Assembly, where she passed legislation to protect vulnerable New Yorkers. She later served on the New York City Council from 2002 to 2009,
including as chair of the influential Land Use Committee, before being elected the 19th Borough President of Queens in 2013.
In private practice, District Attorney Katz worked as a securities litigator for Weil Gotshal and as a shareholder of Greenberg Traurig.
Born and raised in Queens and educated in the borough’s public schools, District Attorney Katz graduated with honors from the University of Massachusetts and earned her Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law. She lives in Forest Hills with her two sons.