Our justice system is under attack. One recent salvo appeared on NBC 4 New York. NBC permitted a grossly misleading news report prepared and aired by reporter Sarah Wallace to air on its network. The report targeted Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Kathleen Waterman-Marshall. Make no mistake: The damage inflicted by Ms. Wallace's sensational news coverage, like other similar pieces, does untold damage to our justice system; it undermines the credibility of courts, judges, and attorneys. In the process, it sends a message to the public that New York State jurists and our courts are not trustworthy, undermining the public's trust and confidence in the judiciary, and in turn decreasing the likelihood litigants will seek available protection from our courts. It comes as no surprise to most attorneys to hear that a recent national poll found that public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court has fallen from 75% in 2000 to under 50% in 2022. We acknowledge that our justice system is imperfect, which is why we are advocates for change when warranted. Each of us have dedicated our careers to helping our clients resolve their family conflicts in the New York State supreme and family courts, and we welcome responsible reporting on our court system. However, we condemn those reporters and news agencies that put sensationalism over sincerity and ratings over reality. As the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis noted well over a century ago, "sunlight is the best disinfectant." But let us not forget that the converse is also true: bad things happen in the dark.

As attorneys and officers of the court, we are responsible for advocating for justice not simply within the four walls of the courthouse but outside as well. Part of our advocacy requires us to speak out when news reporters misrepresent what is happening in our courthouses. Our advocacy is critical because judges cannot comment on cases they are involved in. When a news reporter reports on a New York State jurist misleadingly, no one is more qualified—or more obligated—to challenge false news reporting than the attorneys who know the law and who know these jurists. We must be the ones to bring sunlight into the darkness of misleading news reports. We must be the disinfectant.