Carey D. Carmichael, Jr.

About

Born and raised in the small farming community of Manor, Georgia, Carey learned the value of hard work early in life. With a work ethic that drives him to always be the hardest worker in the room, Carey started his journey to become a trial lawyer at a young age. Always excelling in school, he graduated from the Ware County Magnet School as an honor student and an Academic Letterman, and was named the Student of the Year by the Ware County Academic Boosters Club. While in high school, Carey was a member of the Mock Trial team, winning the regional competition and competing in the state finals. During the course of competition, he received an award as the Most Outstanding Attorney. This experience participating in the Mock Trial program confirmed what he already knew – his calling was to be a trial lawyer.
In college, Carey was an executive board member of the Student Government Association and was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. He was named to the Academic Honor’s List multiple times, an honor reserved for students with a 3.5 GPA or higher. In 2000, Carey graduated from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia with a Bachelor of Business Administration. After college, Carey worked full-time while attending graduate school, and in 2002, Carey graduated from Valdosta State University with a Master of Business Administration (MBA).
After working full-time for an additional year, Carey started his legal career by enrolling at the Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Florida. While in law school, Carey was elected to serve two separate one year terms as a legislator with the Student Bar Association and he was an officer in the school’s chapter of the Federalist Society. He was named to the Dean’s List and was a board member of the Mock Trial Honor Board. Carey competed on the state and national levels as a member of the Mock Trial Team, and was a semi-finalist in the 2005 AFTL Hon. E. Earle Zehmer Trial Competition. Carey received several awards for his efforts in trial practice.
Seeking real-world experience, Carey interned during his third year of law school with the Office of the Public Defender for the Seventh Judicial Circuit in St. Augustine, Florida. During his internship, Carey gained experience working on hundreds of criminal cases ranging from misdemeanors to life felonies.
Carey graduated from Florida Coastal in May of 2006 and was admitted to the Florida Bar in September of 2006. After passing the bar exam, he was offered a position as an Assistant Public Defender with the Office of the Public Defender for the Third Judicial Circuit in Lake City, Florida. During the roughly five years that he worked as an Assistant Public Defender, he handled over 2000 cases, ranging from misdemeanors to capital felonies. Throughout this time, he obtained many successful jury trial verdicts for his clients.  Carey attended multiple seminars and training programs, including the Public Defender College, where he received an award as being the Best Overall Attorney.
Carey left the Office of the Public Defender in 2011 and moved to Tallahassee, Florida; accepting a position as an Assistant Attorney General in the Revenue Litigation Bureau. It did not take long for Carey to realize that the courtroom was calling him back, and in 2012, he returned to Lake City as an Assistant State Attorney for the Third Judicial Circuit. Carey held this position until the end of 2017. During those five plus years as a prosecutor, Carey was directly responsible for reviewing, analyzing, and making filing decisions on over 3500 cases. Carey prosecuted virtually every type of case imaginable, including capital felonies, fraud, DUI manslaughter, home invasion robbery, crimes against law enforcement officers, drug trafficking, crimes against children, and many more. Carey has always stood out for his ability to communicate complex legal issues in a clear and concise manner; which directly contributed to Carey obtaining successful verdicts in 100% of the trials he tried before a jury as a prosecutor. In addition to his own caseload and work in trials, Carey was frequently called upon to supervise and train other attorneys in trial techniques, case analysis, research, and presentation.
Since 2015, Carey has been proud to serve the Third Judicial Circuit as a Commissioner on the Third Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission. He was nominated by the Florida Bar and appointed by Governor Rick Scott for a three year term beginning March 13, 2015 and ending July 1, 2018. After serving as the Vice-Chair for the Commission, he became the Chairman beginning July 1, 2017. On July 17, 2018 Governor Scott reappointed Carey to the Judicial Nominating Commission for an additional four year term.
Carey has also been very involved as a volunteer in the community. From 2008-2011, Carey was the attorney coach for the Columbia High School Mock Trial Team. During this time, Carey volunteered over 1,400 hours of his time teaching students about the law, procedure, and public speaking techniques. That time paid off tremendously, as his team advanced to the State finals, receiving awards as the most professional team in the State. In addition to volunteering as a coach for the Columbia High School Mock Trial Team, Carey has also maintained his relationship with the Florida Coastal Mock Trial Team. During the William Daniel Invitational Mock Trial Competition in Atlanta, Georgia in 2014, Carey’s team competed against schools from around the country, ultimately received the award for being the most professional team. Carey is also a member of the Kiwanis Club of Lake City.
In addition to his law practice, serving on the Judicial Nominating Commission, and his volunteer and community efforts; Carey also enjoys teaching and serving as a speaker and lecturer. Carey is a faculty member for the Gerald T. Bennett Prosecutor/Public Defender Trial Training Program at the University of Florida.
Carey’s extensive experience litigating and trying cases from both sides has provided him with the insight into how to analyze and handle a case from start to finish and the approach necessary to obtain the best possible outcome for his clients.
Bar Memberships:
Florida – 2006
United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida - 2018
Education:
Florida Coastal School of Law – 2006 – Juris Doctor
Valdosta State University – 2002 – Master of Business Administration
Mercer University – 2000 – Bachelor of Business Administration