Judge Orders Government Officials and Eric Adams to Court in Bid to Dismiss Charges
A judge has issued a response for the first time following the federal government’s request to dismiss the case against the mayor of New York City.
On February 18, a federal judge mandated that officials from the Trump administration and attorneys representing New York City Mayor Eric Adams appear in court as they pursue the dismissal of criminal charges against the Democrat.
By the time of publication, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) along with Adams’s legal representative had not provided any comments.
“The Acting Deputy Attorney General reached that conclusion after learning, among other things, that as a result of these proceedings, Adams has been denied access to sensitive information that the Acting Deputy Attorney General believes is necessary for Adams to govern and to help protect the City,” the motion specifies.
According to the document, Adams, through his counsel, has agreed to this motion.
Related Stories
Judge Ho noted that he had not received the document confirming Adams’s consent and instructed Adams to file it by 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
Ho reviewed the federal rule that permits the government to dismiss charges, stipulating that this must be done “with leave of court.” He referenced various cases that clarify this phrase, including a ruling by a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which articulated that the rule is designed to provide a check on power.
“The Executive remains the absolute judge of whether a prosecution should be initiated and the first and presumptively the best judge of whether a pending prosecution should be terminated. The exercise of its discretion with respect to the termination of pending prosecutions should not be judicially disturbed unless clearly contrary to manifest public interest,” explained the appeals court in its decision.
Ho further cited another ruling emphasizing that a court reviewing a dismissal request must “exercise sound judicial discretion” and have “sufficient factual information.”
This led him to order the appearance of the parties involved.
The DOJ’s attempt to dismiss has prompted some federal prosecutors to resign, alongside four deputy mayors of New York City who stepped down on Monday.