The historic indictment of New York City Mayor Eric Adams has given him substantial negative publicity, and understandably so. Allegations of bribery contained in an indictment secured by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, often cited as the premier prosecutor's office in the United States, have triggered a widespread public call for Adams' resignation.

As a judge who presided over more than 600 felony trials in New York, many of which had substantial coverage by the media, I know the effect media coverage of an indictment can have on the pool of public citizens before whom a case will ultimately be decided. After reading the charges in the Adams' indictment and hearing the U.S. attorney's press conference detailing the allegations, the public needs to know that the crimes charged in the indictment are not supported by the publicly available facts.