Former top Nassau prosecutor to lead Manhattan DA's special victims division

Former acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith will lead a new special victims' division within the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, officials said Monday.

In January, Smith joined the office as an executive assistant for the chief of the trial division.

Smith will supervise the child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse, human trafficking response and sex crimes units, according to a news release from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office announcing the appointment.

She will report to Chief Assistant District Attorney Meg Reiss, who previously worked as a Nassau prosecutor, the release said.

Last June, Smith became the first Black person to serve as Nassau’s district attorney.

“There is no better person to lead this work than Joyce Smith,” Bragg said in the release. “Joyce has dedicated the majority of her career to prosecuting domestic violence cases and leading the Family Justice Center in the Bronx, working with survivors of sexual violence, human trafficking, intimate partner violence, and more. It is this valuable experience, combined with her unique skills, dedication, and empathy, that make Joyce the perfect candidate to oversee this work.”

The new special victims' division "speaks to one of the Office’s core values: putting the dignity and wellbeing of survivors at the center of our work," the release said.

Smith stepped down as acting Nassau district attorney after Anne Donnelly was elected in November. Smith had replaced Madeline Singas, who became a Court of Appeals associate judge, the state’s highest court, and resigned from her second elected term as Nassau’s district attorney.

After starting her legal career as an assistant district attorney in the Queens office, Smith became a Nassau prosecutor in 2018 and served as executive assistant district attorney for the community relations division.